Mash v. Commonwealth
2012 Ky. LEXIS 21
| Ky. | 2012Background
- Mash was convicted in McCracken Circuit Court of first-degree sodomy and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment; issue involved a jailhouse attack between inmates on New Year’s Day 2009.
- Victim Matthew Morgan, 19, white, was in the same jail cell block as Mash, an African-American man in his fifties.
- Morgan testified Mash forced oral and anal intercourse after Morgan initially refused Mash’s sexual advances.
- SANE exam and DNA testing showed sperm matching Mash’s DNA; SANE noted neck grip marks and other injuries but no documented anal trauma.
- Mash claimed the act was consensual or a “hand job,” and the jury found Mash guilty under the anal-sodomy instruction rather than the oral-sodomy instruction; sentence imposed was 20 years.
- The issues concern jury-panel fairness, Batson challenges, sufficiency of the directed-verdict record, and the potential lesser-included offense of first-degree sexual abuse.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair cross-section of the jury pool | Mash argues under Duren that McCracken County underrepresented African Americans. | Mash contends the panel’s one African American of 42 potential jurors shows systemic exclusion. | Duren not satisfied; no proven underrepresentation or systematic exclusion. |
| Batson challenge to the peremptory strike of Juror 73 | Mash asserts the strike of the only African-American juror was racially motivated. | Commonwealth contends the strike was race-neutral and credible; Snyder/Thaler considerations apply. | Trial court’s Batson ruling affirmed; no clear error in credibility assessment. |
| Directed verdict sufficiency | Mash argues insufficient proof of sodomy to sustain conviction. | Commonwealth asserts sufficient evidence of anal contact and DNA corroboration. | Evidence, including Morgan’s testimony and DNA, supports conviction; no directed-verdict error. |
| Lesser included offense instruction | Mash seeks instruction on first-degree sexual abuse if warranted by evidence. | No evidentiary basis to support sexual abuse without speculative reinterpretation. | No evidentiary foundation for sexual abuse instruction; denial not error. |
Key Cases Cited
- Duren v. Missouri, 439 U.S. 357 (U.S. 1979) (distinctive-group jury representation standard; three-prong test)
- Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (U.S. 1986) (peremptory-strike discrimination framework; three-step test)
- Miller v. Commonwealth, 283 S.W.3d 690 (Ky. 2009) (sufficiency of evidence and required focus for trials; penetration element nuances)
- Johnson v. Commonwealth, 864 S.W.2d 266 (Ky. 1993) (standard for lesser-included offenses and jury instructions)
- Snyder v. Louisiana, 552 U.S. 472 (U.S. 2008) (demeanor-based Batson considerations; credibility of prosecutor’s rationale)
- Purkett v. Elem, 514 U.S. 765 (U.S. 1995) (pretext analysis in Batson; facial validity of reasons)
- Hernandez v. New York, 500 U.S. 352 (U.S. 1991) (race-neutral explanation not pretext absent discriminatory intent)
- Thaler v. Haynes, 130 S. Ct. 1171 (U.S. 2010) (no blanket rule requiring demeanor findings unless judge observed demeanor)
- Coker v. Commonwealth, 241 S.W.3d 305 (Ky. 2007) (Batson credibility review in Kentucky)