08-3262 Bennett v. Gaetz

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Habeas Corpus
Jury selection

Where the prosecutor used only two of seven peremptory challenges against black veniremen, the defendant's equal protection challenge was properly denied.

"The Illinois Appellate Court also appropriately considered the fact that the prosecution did not exhaust its seven available peremptories to exclude all African- American prospective jurors; rather, it used only four of those peremptories, two against African-Americans and two against whites. See Franklin, 538 F.3d at 666 (approving the Illinois Appellate Court's reliance on the prosecution's use of two of seven peremptories to strike only two of four African-Americans). And finally, as the state court observed, the prosecution did not ask suspicious questions to the two excluded African-American jurors that would support an inference of racial discrimination. Cf. Miller-El, 545 U.S. at 255-63 (describing the prosecution's posing of questions to African-American venire members designed to elicit disqualifying answers). In the absence of more evidence of discriminatory purpose, we cannot say that the Illinois Appellate Court unreasonably concluded that Bennett failed to make out a prima facie case under Batson."

Affirmed.

08-3262 Bennett v. Gaetz

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Lindberg, J., Tinder, J.

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