386 Pa. Super. 29 - Commonwealth v. Jackson’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

6 federal appellate · 32 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 40 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “‘ “[A] Finding of intentional discrimination is a finding of fact entitled to appropriate deference by a reviewing court. Since the trial court's findings in the context under consideration here largely will turn on evaluation of credibility, a reviewing court ordinarily should give those findings great deference. Thus, an appellate court will reverse a trial court’s finding of no discrimination only if that finding is clearly erroneous.” ’”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. 414 Pa. Super. 502 - Commonwealth v. Ulen · 397 Pa. Super. 96 - Commonwealth v. Woodall

2. “In order to prevail, the defendant must initially establish a prima facie case of discrimination. To establish such a case, the defendant first must show that he is a member of a cognizable racial group, and that the prosecutor has exercised peremptory challenges to remove from the venire members of the defendant’s race. Second, the defendant is entitled to rely on the fact, as to which there can be no dispute, that peremptory challenges constitute a jury selection practice that permits “those to discriminate who are of a mind to discriminate.” Finally, the defendant must show that these facts and any other relevant circumstances raise an inference that the prosecutor used that practice to exclude the veniremen from the petit jury on account of their race. This combination of factors in the impaneling of the petit jury, as in selection of the venire, raises the necessary inference of discrimination. [Batson v. Kentucky,] 476 U.S. at 96-97 , 106 S.Ct. at 1723 (citations omitted). See also Teague v. Lane, 489 U.S. 288 [-], 109 S.Ct. 1060 [1066-67], 103 L.Ed.2d 334, 345 (1989). Thus, a prima facie case of discrimination has three elements: 1) the defendant’s membership in a cognizable racial group; 2) the prosecutor’s use of peremptory strikes to exclude members of that group; and 3) an inference arising under the totality of the circumstances that the prosecutor used the strikes to exclude venirepersons on account of race.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. 393 Pa. Super. 152 - Commonwealth v. Stern

3. “Factors which may be relevant to a determination as to whether the defendant has established a prima facie case include not only the race of the victim, the witnesses, and the seated jurors, but also: 1) the number of strikes used against minorities; 2) the percentage of minorities on the venire panel who were eliminated by peremptory strikes; 3) the past conduct of the prosecutor in challenging members of minority at other trials; 4) the type and manner of the prosecutor’s statements and questions during voir dire; 5) similarities and differences between challenged and unchallenged venire panel members. Warning signs of possible discrimination include: 1) evidence that the use of peremptory challenges had a disparate impact on minority venire panel members; 2) evidence that challenged venire panel members had no characteristic in common except for race; 3) evidence that minority venire panel members were questioned in a manner that was especially likely to elicit disqualifying responses; and 4) evidence that minority venire panel members were struck while white panel members who had similar characteristics were retained. See Ex Parte Branch, 526 So.2d [609,] 622-23 (collecting cases); Acker, [Exercising Peremptory Challenges After Batson ], 24 Criminal Law Bulletin [187,] 197-201 (collecting cases).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. 390 Pa. Super. 434 - Commonwealth v. Weaver