Background

• Simmons, a Texas prisoner, was convicted of capital murder and attempted capital murder with concurrent life and 70-year terms.
• The district court dismissed Simmons’s 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition, which included a Batson challenge alleging racial discrimination in striking juror Felder.
• The court of appeals granted a COA to address whether the state court properly found the prosecution’s race-neutral explanations for Felder’s strike were not pretextual.
• Felder’s juror questionnaire responses formed the basis for the State’s race-neutral reasons: sister incarcerated, sister’s police encounter, Felder slept during voir dire, her son worked at a jail, and her Seventh Day Adventist faith.
• Simmons argued Felder and two other venirepersons with incarcerated relatives were similarly situated and that Felder’s religious affiliation and lack of questioning were improper factors.
• Under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d), the panel concluded the state court’s reliance on the juror questionnaires was not contrary to or an unreasonable application of Supreme Court law, and pretext was not established; the petition was denied and the conviction affirmed.

Issues

Key Cases Cited

• Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (U.S. 1986) (established Batson three-step framework for evaluating race-based jury striking)
• Felkner v. Jackson, 131 S. Ct. 1305 (U.S. 2011) (clarifies standards for evidentiary evaluation under §2254(d))
• Stevens v. Epps, 618 F.3d 489 (5th Cir. 2010) (discusses deference to state court findings under §2254(d))
• Harrington v. Richter, 131 S. Ct. 770 (U.S. 2011) (gives framework for reviewing state court adjudications on the merits)
• Murphy v. Dretke, 416 F.3d 427 (5th Cir. 2005) (addresses standard for assessing discriminatory intent in Batson claims)
• Miller-El v. Dretke, 545 U.S. 231 (U.S. 2005) (discusses comparative juror analysis and pretext in Batson context)
• Ortiz v. Quarterman, 504 F.3d 492 (5th Cir. 2007) (discusses deference and standards under §2254(d))