State v. Wright
1 CA-CR 15-0661
| Ariz. Ct. App. | Jan 31, 2017Background
- In May 2014 police surveilled a residence; Officer Thomas followed a Cadillac leaving the residence and reported its plate to Detective Shaun Hardesty in an unmarked police vehicle.
- Detective Hardesty activated lights and siren to stop the Cadillac; the vehicle passed several streets, entered a shopping-center parking lot, and drove through multiple aisles before stopping.
- Eric Steven Wright (defendant) was the driver; an inventory/search of the vehicle uncovered five bags of methamphetamine totaling 12.3 grams and $4,220 on his person. He was arrested and charged with possession for sale.
- At trial the State used a peremptory strike to remove the only then-remaining black juror; the court overruled Wright’s Batson objection after the prosecutor gave a race-neutral reason.
- The jury received a flight instruction (no contemporaneous objection by Wright); Wright was convicted and sentenced to the presumptive 10-year term.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether prosecutor’s peremptory strike violated Batson | Strike was race-neutral (juror’s prior acquittal and jury experience made him unreliable for State) | Strike was pretextual and discriminatorily targeted the only black juror | Court affirmed: prosecutor’s facially race-neutral reason satisfied burden; trial court’s implicit credibility finding was not clearly erroneous |
| Whether flight instruction was improper | Evidence (delayed stopping despite lights/siren, multiple opportunities to stop) permitted inference of consciousness of guilt or concealment | Instruction was unwarranted; driving slowly before stopping is equivocal and not strong evidence of flight | Court affirmed: evidence supported reasonable inference of flight/concealment; instruction not an abuse of discretion |
Key Cases Cited
- Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986) (peremptory strikes motivated by race violate Equal Protection)
- Hernandez v. New York, 500 U.S. 352 (1991) (prosecutor need only provide a facially valid, race-neutral explanation)
- Purkett v. Elem, 514 U.S. 765 (1995) (race-neutral explanation need not be persuasive or plausible)
- Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322 (2003) (third-stage Batson inquiry turns on credibility; trial court entitled to deference)
- State v. Parker, 231 Ariz. 391 (App. 2013) (standards for flight instruction and appellate review of jury instructions)
- State v. Henderson, 210 Ariz. 561 (2005) (fundamental-error standard for unpreserved instructional error)