9th Cir.;
12-35461
The court of appeals affirmed a district court’s denial of a federal habeas corpus petition. The court held that a district court did not err in denying a convicted defendant’s (I)Batson(I) claim where no evidence of the surrounding circumstances supported the conclusion that the prosecutor offered pretextual explanations for dismissing black veniremen who variously expressed concern about the credibility of co-defendant testimony and failed to disclose a prior criminal conviction and charges. The court held further that the defendant failed to demonstrate a Confrontation Clause violation where a witness related her brother’s hearsay statement against interest in which he roughly admitted his own involvement in the same criminal scheme.
