Dunn v. State
304 Ga. 647
| Ga. | 2018Background
- In June 2011, Marquette Woods was shot and killed during an armed robbery at a house where drugs were sold; Justin Eric Dunn was tried alone for related crimes in August 2012 and convicted of malice murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault, and three counts of firearm possession during the commission of a felony; sentence: life plus 55 years.
- Key eyewitnesses (Butler and Johnson and Johnson’s girlfriend) identified Dunn at the scene; shell casings linked a 9mm recovered from Dunn’s car to the murder; additional incriminating items were found in Dunn’s bedroom and he gave a false name on arrest.
- Dunn’s amended motion for new trial was denied; he appealed raising a single enumeration: trial court erred in overruling Dunn’s peremptory strike as racially discriminatory under Georgia v. McCollum.
- During jury selection, the State made a McCollum (reverse-Batson) objection after the defense struck multiple white jurors, contending disparate treatment given a similarly young Black juror was left on the panel.
- Defense counsel first stated she struck Juror No. 28 for being “extremely young,” then later offered a different, work-life–experience explanation; the trial court concluded the proffered reason was pretextual and seated Juror No. 28.
- The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed, holding the trial court effectively performed the three-step McCollum inquiry, found discriminatory intent, and did not clearly err in rejecting the defense explanation as pretextual; the court also noted the evidence was sufficient though sufficiency was not raised on appeal.
Issues
| Issue | State's Argument | Dunn's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the trial court erred in denying Dunn’s peremptory strike under McCollum (reverse Batson) | The pattern of strikes showed a prima facie case of racial discrimination; the defense’s stated reason for Juror No. 28 was pretextual given a similarly young Black juror (No. 14) was seated | Trial court failed to perform step three of McCollum and improperly treated the defense reason as non-neutral; seating Juror No. 28 was error | Affirmed: trial court, on the record and in context, moved to step three, found discriminatory intent, rejected defense explanation as pretextual, and did not clearly err |
| Whether evidence supported convictions (though Dunn did not appeal this) | State: eyewitness IDs, ballistics linking 9mm to murder, items found in Dunn’s possession supported convictions | Dunn: (no sufficiency claim on appeal) | Court: Evidence was sufficient under Jackson v. Virginia |
Key Cases Cited
- Georgia v. McCollum, 505 U.S. 42 (1992) (extends Batson to defendant peremptory challenges; three-step test for reverse-Batson/McCollum claims)
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (standard for sufficiency of evidence—view evidence in light most favorable to verdict)
- Edwards v. State, 301 Ga. 822 (2017) (discusses McCollum/Batson framework and deference to trial court credibility findings)
- Rose v. State, 287 Ga. 238 (2010) (trial court should focus on genuineness of counsel’s explanation; changing explanations may indicate pretext)
- Walker v. State, 281 Ga. 521 (2007) (prospective juror age can be a race-neutral reason for strike)