United States v. Wellington , 82 F. App'x 828 ( 2003 )


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  •                           UNPUBLISHED
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,              
    Plaintiff-Appellee,
    v.                                No. 02-4995
    LARRY DONNELL WELLINGTON,
    Defendant-Appellant.
    
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the District of Maryland, at Greenbelt.
    Deborah K. Chasanow, District Judge.
    (CR-02-84)
    Submitted: October 22, 2003
    Decided: December 16, 2003
    Before LUTTIG, WILLIAMS, and TRAXLER, Circuit Judges.
    Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
    COUNSEL
    Francis A. Pommett, III, NATHANSON & POMMETT, P.C., Balti-
    more, Maryland, for Appellant. Thomas M. DiBiagio, United States
    Attorney, Stuart A. Berman, Assistant United States Attorney, Green-
    belt, Maryland, for Appellee.
    Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See
    Local Rule 36(c).
    2                    UNITED STATES v. WELLINGTON
    OPINION
    PER CURIAM:
    Larry Wellington appeals his conviction after a jury trial for mak-
    ing false statements, communicating false information regarding taint
    of a consumer product, and obstructing an FDA investigation in viola-
    tion of 
    18 U.S.C. §§ 1001
    (a)(2), 1365(c)(1), & 1505. Wellington chal-
    lenges the district court’s ruling disallowing four of his ten
    peremptory strikes.
    In Batson v. Kentucky, 
    476 U.S. 79
     (1986), and Georgia v. McCol-
    lum, 
    505 U.S. 42
     (1992), the Supreme Court held that it was constitu-
    tionally impermissible for either the prosecution or the defense to use
    race-based peremptory strikes. When a Batson challenge is made, the
    trial court must conduct a three-part inquiry. First, the court requires
    the opponent of the strike to make out a prima facie case of racial dis-
    crimination. Batson, 
    476 U.S. at 93-94
    . Second, if the requisite show-
    ing is made, the burden shifts to the proponent of the strike to come
    forward with a race-neutral explanation for striking the juror in ques-
    tion. 
    Id. at 97
    . The second step of the inquiry does not require that the
    explanation be persuasive or even plausible. Purkett v. Elem, 
    514 U.S. 765
    , 767-68 (1995) (per curiam). The proffered reason need not be
    worthy of belief or related to the issues to be tried or to the prospec-
    tive juror’s ability to provide acceptable jury service. Jones v. Plaster,
    
    57 F.3d 417
    , 420 (4th Cir. 1995). All that is required is that the reason
    be race neutral. Purkett, 
    514 U.S. at 768
    .
    Once steps one and two are met, the trial court must decide
    whether the explanation is pretextual and whether the opponent of the
    strike has met its burden of proving purposeful discrimination. The
    critical question in determining purposeful discrimination is at step
    three and rests on the persuasiveness of the justification for the
    peremptory strike. Miller-El v. Cockrell, 
    537 U.S. 322
    , ___, 
    123 S. Ct. 1029
    , 1040 (2003). The district court must focus on the genu-
    ineness of the explanation, not the reasonableness. Purkett, 
    514 U.S. at 769
    . At this stage, "implausible or fantastic justifications may (and
    probably will) be found to be pretexts for purposeful discrimination."
    Miller-El, 537 U.S. at ___, 
    123 S. Ct. at 1040
    . However, the ultimate
    UNITED STATES v. WELLINGTON                       3
    burden always rests with the opponent of the strike to demonstrate
    purposeful discrimination. Batson, 
    476 U.S. at 96-98
    .
    The trial court’s decision on the ultimate question of discriminatory
    intent is a factual finding accorded great deference and that finding
    will only be reversed on appeal for clear error. Hernandez v. New
    York, 
    500 U.S. 352
    , 364-65 (1991); United States v. Grimmond, 
    137 F.3d 823
    , 833 (4th Cir. 1998). Deference is necessary because the
    decisive question in the typical peremptory challenge inquiry is
    whether counsel’s race neutral explanation for a peremptory challenge
    should be believed. Miller-El, 537 U.S. at ___, 
    123 S. Ct. at 1041
    .
    There will seldom be much evidence bearing on that issue, and the
    best evidence often will be the demeanor of the attorney who exer-
    cises the challenge. 
    Id.
     As with the state of mind of a juror, evaluation
    of the attorney’s state of mind based on demeanor and credibility lies
    "peculiarly within a trial judge’s province." 
    Id.
    Wellington asserts that the district court erred when it rejected his
    peremptory strikes because it focused on the reasonableness of Wel-
    lington’s explanations instead of their genuineness. We conclude the
    district court did not err in granting the Government’s Batson chal-
    lenge and reseating four jurors. The district court made the proper
    three part inquiry and did not clearly err when it concluded that Wel-
    lington’s proffered reasons were pretextual. Accordingly, we affirm
    Wellington’s conviction. We dispense with oral argument because the
    facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials
    before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
    AFFIRMED
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 02-4995

Citation Numbers: 82 F. App'x 828

Judges: Luttig, Williams, Traxleb

Filed Date: 12/16/2003

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 11/6/2024