Rice v. Collins

• Decision Date: 18 January 2006
• Docket Number: No. 04-52.,04-52.
• Parties: RICE, WARDEN, et al. <I>v.</I> COLLINS
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

546 U.S. 333

126 S. Ct. 969

163 L. Ed. 2d 824

RICE, WARDEN, et al.v.

COLLINS

No. 04-52.

Supreme Court of United States.

Argued December 5, 2005.

Decided January 18, 2006.

After the prosecutor struck a young, African-American woman, Juror 16, from the panel at respondent Collins' state-court drug trial, Collins objected that the strike was made on account of Juror 16's race. As race-neutral explanations for the strike, the prosecutor said that Juror 16 had rolled her eyes in response to a question from the court; that she was young and might be too tolerant of a drug crime; and that she was single and lacked ties to the community. In rejecting Collins' challenge, the trial court declared that it did not observe the complained-of demeanor by Juror 16, but noted that she was youthful, as was a white male juror also dismissed by peremptory challenge, and stated it would give the prosecutor "the benefit of the doubt." The prosecutor had also referred to Juror 16's gender in explaining the strike, but the trial court disallowed any reliance on that ground. The California Court of Appeal upheld the conviction and the trial court's ruling on the peremptory challenge, finding that the prosecutor permissibly excluded Juror 16 based on her youth. Even if youth was not a legitimate reason to exercise a peremptory challenge, said the court, Juror 16's demeanor supported the strike; nothing in the record suggested the trial court failed to conduct a searching inquiry of the prosecutor's reasons for striking her. The California Supreme Court denied review. The Federal District Court dismissed Collins' habeas petition with prejudice, but the Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded, concluding that, under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA), the State Court of Appeal's affirmance was based on an unreasonable factual determination in light of the evidence presented at trial.

Held: The Ninth Circuit's attempt to use a set of debatable inferences to set aside the state court's conclusion does not satisfy AEDPA's requirements for granting habeas relief. Pp. 338-342.

(a) Under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 98, a defendant's challenge to a peremptory strike allegedly based on race requires, inter alia, that the trial court determine whether the defendant has carried his burden of proving purposeful discrimination. This involves evaluating "the persuasiveness of the [prosecutor's proffered] justification" for the strike, but "the ultimate burden of persuasion regarding racial motivation rests with, and never shifts from, the opponent of the strike." Purkett v. Elem, 514 U.S. 765, 768. Because, under AEDPA, a federal habeas court must find the state-court conclusion "an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding," 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(2), a federal court can only grant Collins' petition if it was unreasonable to credit the prosecutor's race-neutral explanations for the Batson challenge. P. 338.

(b) Though the Ninth Circuit recited the proper standard of review, it improperly substituted its evaluation of the record for that of the state trial court, which, under § 2254(d)(2), did not make an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented. Noting that the trial court had not witnessed Juror 16's purported eye rolling, the Ninth Circuit concluded that no reasonable factfinder could have accepted the prosecutor's rendition of the alleged incident because the prosecutor had completely undermined her own credibility based on three considerations: her erroneous statement that another prospective African-American juror, Juror 19, was "young" when, in fact, she was a grandmother; the prosecutor's improper attempt to use gender as a basis for exclusion; and the Court of Appeals' skepticism toward the prosecutor's explanation that she struck Juror 16 in part because of her youth and lack of ties to the community. As to the first reason, because the prosecutor's reference to Juror 19's youth occurred during a discussion of three prospective jurors, two of whom were, indeed, young, it is quite plausible that the prosecutor simply misspoke. It is a tenuous inference to say that an accidental reference with respect to one juror undermines the prosecutor's credibility with respect to another. Second, the Ninth Circuit assigned the prosecutor's reference to Juror 16's gender more weight than it can bear, given that the prosecutor provided a number of other permissible and plausible race-neutral reasons for excluding her. Collins provides no argument why this matter demonstrates that a reasonable factfinder must conclude the prosecutor lied about the eye rolling and struck Juror 16 based on her race. Finally, even if the prosecutor's concerns about Juror 16's youth and lack of community ties were overly cautious, her wariness could be seen as race neutral, for she used a peremptory strike on a white male juror, Juror 6, with the same characteristics. Viewing the foregoing concerns together, the most generous reading would suggest only that the trial court had reason to question the prosecutor's credibility regarding Juror 16's alleged improper demeanor. That does not, however, compel the conclusion that the trial court had no permissible alternative but to reject the prosecutor's race-neutral justifications and conclude Collins had shown a Batson violation. Reasonable minds reviewing the record might disagree about the prosecutor's credibility, but on habeas review that does not suffice to supersede the trial court's credibility determination. Pp. 339-342.

365 F.3d 667, reversed and remanded.

KENNEDY, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. BREYER, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which SOUTER, J., joined, post, p. 342.

CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

Bill Lockyer, Attorney General of California, argued the cause for petitioners. With him on the briefs were Manuel M. Medeiros, State Solicitor General, Robert R. Anderson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Pamela C. Hamanaka, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Kristofer Jorstad, Deputy Attorney General, Erika D. Jackson, Deputy Attorney General, and Donald E. De Nicola, Deputy Solicitor General.

Mark R. Drozdowski, by appointment of the Court, post, p. 807, argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief were Maria E. Stratton and Karyn H. Bucur.^*

JUSTICE KENNEDY delivered the opinion of the Court.

Concerned that, in this habeas corpus case, a federal court set aside reasonable state-court determinations of fact in favor of its own debatable interpretation of the record, we granted certiorari. Our review confirms that the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit erred, misapplying settled rules that limit its role and authority.

I

After a 4-day trial in the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles, a jury convicted Steven Martell Collins on one count of possessing cocaine. The conviction was all the more serious because it subjected him to California's three strikes rule for sentencing. The question at issue in this federal habeas corpus action, however, is the California courts' rejection of Collins' argument that the prosecutor struck a young, African-American woman, Juror 16, from the panel on account of her race. A second African-American juror was also the subject of a peremptory strike, and although Collins challenged that strike in the trial court, on appeal he objected only to the excusal of Juror 16.

Even prior to this Court's decision in Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986), California courts barred peremptory challenges to jurors based on race. People v. Wheeler, 22 Cal. 3d 258, 583 P. 2d 748 (1978). Although our recent decision in Johnson v. California, 545 U.S. 162 (2005), disapproved of the manner in which Wheeler and Batson were implemented in some California cases, the state courts in this case used the correct analytical framework in considering and ruling upon the objection to the prosecutorial strike.

As race-neutral explanations for striking Juror 16, the prosecutor said that Juror 16 had rolled her eyes in response to a question from the court; that Juror 16 was young and might be too tolerant of a drug crime; and that Juror 16 was single and lacked ties to the community. A further, more troubling part of the prosecutor's unorganized explanation was her reference to Juror 16's gender. The trial court, correctly, disallowed any reliance on that ground. The trial court, furthermore, which had the benefit of observing the prosecutor firsthand over the course of the proceedings, rejected Collins' challenge.

"With regard to 016, the court, frankly, did not observe the demeanor of Ms. 016 that was complained of by the District Attorney; however, Ms. 016 was a youthful person, as was [a white male juror the prosecutor also dismissed by peremptory challenge]. And one or more prospective jurors also.

"The Court is prepared to give the District Attorney the benefit of the doubt as to Ms. 016." 2 App. 14-15.

The California Court of Appeal upheld the conviction and the trial court's ruling on the peremptory challenge. People v. Collins, No. B106939 (Dec. 12, 1997), App. H to Pet. for Cert. 112-117. In its view, youth was a legitimate reason to exercise a peremptory challenge; and, even if it were not, Juror 16's demeanor also supported the strike. Id., at 116. According to its review of the record, nothing suggested the trial court failed to conduct a searching inquiry of the prosecutor's reasons for striking Juror 16. Id., at 116-117. The appeals court thus upheld the trial court's ultimate conclusion to credit the prosecutor. Ibid. Without comment, the Supreme Court of California denied Collins' petition for review. App. F, id., at 96.

Collins sought collateral relief on this claim in federal court. The United States District Court for the Central District of California dismissed...