Latest 2 Cases: State v. Holmes (Civil Rights), State v. Raynor (Civil Rights)

Taking Stock: A Review of Justice Stevens’s Last Book and an Appreciation of His Extraordinary Service on the Supreme Court

RODGER CITRON

Rodger D. Citron, the Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship and a Professor of Law at Touro College, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, comments on the late Justice John Paul Stevens’s last book, The Making of a Justice: Reflections on My First 94 Years. Citron laments that, in his view, the memoir is too long yet does not say enough, but he lauds the justice for his outstanding service on the Supreme Court.

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State v. Holmes

Docket: SC20048

Opinion Date: December 24, 2019

Judge: Richard A. Robinson

Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Appellate Court upholding Defendant's conviction of felony murder on the basis of its rejection of his claim brought under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986), holding that that the Appellate Court properly affirmed the judgment of conviction but systemic concerns about Batson's failure to address the effects of implicit bias and disparate impact must be referred to a Jury Selection Task Force. Defendant was convicted of felony murder. The Appellate Division affirmed, holding (1) there was no adequate claim that the Appellate Court improperly upheld the trial court's finding that the prosecutor's reasons were not pretextual under the third step of Batson; and (2) although the relief the Court could provide was constrained by Defendant's decision to limit his Batson claims to the Equal Protection Clause, the broader themes of disparate impact and implicit bias that Defendant advanced raised enough concern with the fairness of the criminal justice system for measures to be concerned intended to promote the selection of diverse jury panels in the state's courthouses.

State v. Raynor

Docket: SC20042

Opinion Date: December 24, 2019

Judge: Per Curiam

Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Appellate Court concluding that the record was inadequate to review Defendant's challenge under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986), to the prosecutor's exercise of a peremptory challenge on a prospective juror, holding that the trial court did not commit clear error in finding that the prosecutor did not engage in purposeful discrimination when he peremptorily challenged the juror. Defendant was convicted of assault in the first degree as an accessory and conspiracy to commit assault in the first degree. On appeal, Defendant challenged the prosecutor's exercise of a peremptory challenge on a prospective juror on the basis of his employment history. The record, however, did not indicate the race or ethnicity of both the prospective juror and one of the two jurors whom Defendant pinpointed as examples of disparate treatment by the prosecutor. The Appellate Court affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the Appellate Court's well reasoned opinion fully addressed and properly resolved the certified issue.