Stenhouse v. Hobbs

• Decision Date: 07 February 2011
• Docket Number: No. 09–3533.,09–3533.
• Parties: Tishaun Demetri STENHOUSE, Appellant,v.Ray HOBBS,1 Interim Director, Arkansas Department of Correction, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

631 F.3d 888

Tishaun Demetri STENHOUSE, Appellant,

v.Ray HOBBS,1 Interim Director, Arkansas Department of Correction, Appellee.

No. 09–3533.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: Sept. 22, 2010.Filed: Feb. 7, 2011.

Andrew Mikeal Taylor, argued, Timothy J. Cullen, on the brief, Little Rock, AR, for appellant.Christian Harris, AAG, argued, Little Rock, AR, for appellee.Before RILEY, Chief Judge, MELLOY and COLLOTON, Circuit Judges.COLLOTON, Circuit Judge.

An Arkansas jury convicted Tishaun Demetri Stenhouse of capital murder and committing a felony with a firearm. Stenhouse received a sentence of life imprisonment without parole, plus fifteen years' imprisonment. After the Supreme Court of Arkansas affirmed his convictions, Stenhouse filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. In his petition, Stenhouse, who is a black male, alleged that the prosecution exercised peremptory challenges based on race during jury selection, in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The district court ² denied Stenhouse's petition, and we affirm.

I.

Stenhouse was prosecuted for a murder committed in Little Rock, Arkansas. On the evening of July 7, 2003, Stenhouse and several others gathered at a residence in Little Rock. Gunshots, including one shot attributed to Stenhouse by a witness, were fired inside the house. The occupants then moved to the front yard, where Stenhouse shot and killed a man. Stenhouse was charged with capital murder and committing a felony with a firearm. See Stenhouse v. State, 362 Ark. 480, 209 S.W.3d 352, 354 (2005).

During jury selection, the prosecution exercised peremptory strikes against three black members of the venire: Ms. Jackson, Mr. York, and Ms. Smith. Citing Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986), defense counsel objected to the strikes, alleging that they were motivated by the race of the prospective jurors and thus prohibited by the Equal Protection Clause. At the trial court's request, the prosecution proffered race-neutral reasons for the strikes. The trial court overruled Stenhouse's three objections.

After a trial, the jury found Stenhouse guilty of both charges. The court sentenced Stenhouse to life imprisonment without parole on the capital murder charge, and fifteen years' imprisonment on the firearms charge.

On appeal, the Supreme Court of Arkansas rejected Stenhouse's Batson claims and affirmed the convictions. Stenhouse, 209 S.W.3d at 354. The supreme court concluded that the prosecution's reasons for striking Jackson and York “appear to meet this court's definition of race-neutral reasons,” and held that the trial court, in overruling Stenhouse's objections, did not abuse its discretion. Id. at 357. The supreme court likewise held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Stenhouse's Batson objection to the prosecution's strike of Smith. Id. at 358.

In 2006, Stenhouse filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. His petition alleged that the prosecution made race-motivated peremptory strikes and that the state courts misapplied clearly established federal law in rejecting his Batson challenges. The district court denied relief, but granted Stenhouse a certificate of appealability.

II.

Batson established that “the Equal Protection Clause forbids the prosecutor to challenge potential jurors solely on account of their race.” 476 U.S. at 89, 106 S.Ct. 1712. In evaluating Batson objections, trial courts are guided by a three-step process:

First, a defendant must make a prima facie showing that a peremptory challenge has been exercised on the basis of race. Second, if that showing has been made, the prosecution must offer a race-neutral basis for striking the juror in question. Third, in light of the parties' submissions, the trial court must determine whether the defendant has shown purposeful discrimination.

Miller–El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 328–29, 123 S.Ct. 1029, 154 L.Ed.2d 931 (2003) (citations omitted).

We review petitions for writ of habeas corpus under the framework set forth in the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”). Under AEDPA, because Stenhouse's claim “was adjudicated on the merits in State court proceedings,” he is entitled to relief only if he shows that the adjudication “resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States,” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1), or “resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding.” Id. § 2254(d)(2).

Stenhouse's claim that the state courts misapplied the Batson framework presents a legal question that is subject to the standard set forth in § 2254(d)(1). See Taylor v. Roper, 577 F.3d 848, 863 & n. 4 (8th Cir.2009); Smulls v. Roper, 535 F.3d 853, 862–63 (8th Cir.2008) (en banc). Stenhouse's contention that the state courts unreasonably determined that the prosecution's peremptory strikes were not motivated by race is subject to the standard for factual determinations set forth in § 2254(d)(2). See Miller–El v. Dretke, 545 U.S. 231, 240, 125 S.Ct. 2317, 162 L.Ed.2d 196 (2005); Taylor, 577 F.3d at 854–55; Weaver v. Bowersox, 241 F.3d 1024, 1030 (8th Cir.2001). AEDPA further mandates that a state court's factual determinations “shall be presumed to be correct,” and that the petitioner has “the burden of rebutting the presumption of correctness by clear and convincing evidence.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1); see Taylor, 577 F.3d at 854–55; cf. Wood v. Allen, ––– U.S. ––––, 130 S.Ct. 841, 848 & n. 1, 175 L.Ed.2d 738 (2010).

III.

A.

We first consider Stenhouse's claims concerning the peremptory strike of prospective juror Smith. Stenhouse argues that the decision of the state courts to deny his Batson claim was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts, and that it was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, Batson and related decisions of the Supreme Court.

When the prosecution struck Smith from the venire, the prosecutor denied that Stenhouse made even a prima facie case of an equal protection violation, but volunteered to articulate a race-neutral reason for striking Smith. At that point, the prosecution had struck six prospective jurors, three of whom were white and three of whom were black. When the court asked for the race-neutral reason, the prosecutor explained as follows:

Ms. Smith did state that she, basically, knew that defense counsel attended her church, and defense counsel has stated that that church is a large congregation ... and yet she recognizes him.

... That, in and of itself, is a relationship that the State is uncomfortable with a witness in the case having.

... [C]oupled with the fact that a defense witness is a pastor of that church and is the pastor of defense counsel and of Ms. Smith, the State is—that further—that adds to our uncomfortable feeling about having her sit as a juror in this particular case.

The trial court denied Stenhouse's objection to the strike, stating only that “the Batson motions have been made at the appropriate times in the appropriate manner, and I have denied the motions, and then I have asked for race-neutral reasons for purposes of the appellate record so that that would be perfected for all parties.” The Supreme Court of Arkansas, noting that “defense counsel offered no additional proof to support an assertion of purposeful discrimination,” held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in overruling the objection. Stenhouse, 209 S.W.3d at 358. Stenhouse now asserts that the state court erred in determining that the prosecution had race-neutral reasons for striking Smith.

The record does not establish that the decision of the Supreme Court of Arkansas was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts presented in the state court proceedings. During voir dire, Smith stated that one of the potential defense witnesses, Bishop Arnold, served as her pastor, and that she attended the same church as defense counsel. These statements substantiate the race-neutral reasons proffered by the prosecution. The reasons also support a reasonable determination that the prosecution did not engage in purposeful discrimination. Although Smith said that she could put aside her relationships with Arnold and defense counsel, and that she would not feel a need to explain her verdict to them, the peremptory strikes need not meet the standard of a strike for cause. It was quite reasonable for the prosecution to prefer a juror who did not have regular contact with a defense attorney at church and who did not have a defense witness for a pastor.

Stenhouse contends that the prosecution's impermissible motive is demonstrated by comparing Smith to four white prospective jurors—Mr. Simpson, Mr. Papan, Mr. Clements, and Ms. Whitlock—whom the prosecution did not strike. Each of these prospective jurors was acquainted with potential witnesses, but the relationships were different than Smith's. Simpson and Papan attended the same church as a prosecution witness, and Clements knew a different witness for the prosecution. In an adversarial process, it is little wonder that the prosecution showed less concern about seating a juror who may have been acquainted with a witness favorable to the State's case than with a juror who associated with defense counsel and a prominent defense witness. Although prospective juror Whitlock knew of Bishop Arnold, her familiarity was based on their time in school together many years before, and she had no present relationship with Arnold. There was thus good reason for the prosecution to distinguish between Whitlock and Smith when striking jurors who may have been predisposed to favor the side of the case supported by Bishop Arnold. For these reasons,...