Gray v. Brady, No. 08-2548

District court's denial of defendant's request for habeas relief, convicted of distributing cocaine and for doing so in a public park, is affirmed where: 1) defendant's arguments that the trial court mistakenly believed that defendant, because he is not Hispanic, could not object to the exclusion of an Hispanic juror is without merit; 2) defendant's argument that the state courts wrongly ignored the evidence of discriminatory animus toward the African-American jurors in finding no discriminatory animus against the Hispanic juror is without merit; and 3) defendant's argument that the state courts erred in evaluating the challenges to the Hispanic juror and the African-American jurors separately, as opposed to challenges directed at "minority jurors" as a class is without merit, as defendant has provided no evidence or authority for the proposition that "minorities"  constitute a cognizable group for Batson purposes. 

Read Gray v. Brady, No. 08-2548

Appellate Information

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts

Decided January 25, 2010

Judges

Before:  Seyla and Boudin, Circuit Judges, and Laplante, District Judge

Opinion by  District Judge Laplante

Counsel

For Appellant:  David H. Mirsky

For Appellee:     Amy L. Karangekis, Assistant Attorney General, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Martha Coakley, Attorney General,