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715 F.2d 995

Docket No. 83-3021

Boykins v. Maggio

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

Decided Sept. 26, 1983.

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals · decided 1983-09-26

Cited by 3 later decisions — most recently July 1999

1 federal appellate ·

2 counsel of record

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“if the difference between the expected value and the observed number is greater than two or three standard deviations.”

quoted by 1 later decision, including McGinnis v. Johnson

“[e]mploying the statistical analysis approved by the Supreme Court in Castaneda”

quoted by 1 later decision, including McGinnis v. Johnson

Applies 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996)

Relies on Castaneda v. Partida

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1983-09-26

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

¶1Summary Calendar.

¶2Ralph Capitelli, Asst. Federal Public Defender, New Orleans, La., for petitioner-appellant.

¶3James L. Alcock, Asst. Dist. Atty., 32nd Jud. Dist., Houma, La., for defendants-appellees.

¶4Before GEE, POLITZ and JOHNSON, Circuit Judges.

¶5GEE, Circuit Judge:

¶6Appellant, convicted of aggravated rape, complains to us of the denial of his claim for relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. His sole point is that due process and equal protection were denied him because members of his race were systematically excluded from the Terrebonne Parish grand juries during the time period in which he was indicted. The only relevant evidence is a stipulation.

¶7This shows for the seven-year period selected by him for analysis — the years 1970 through August 1977 — the following: that in 1970 the black population (his ethnic group) in the parish was 13.94 percent; in 1980, 13.91 percent. The average percentage is, of course, 13.925. No corresponding percentage figures for whites are given, however we derive one of 83 percent from actual population figures included. During this period the total number of persons on the grand jury venire was 670, of whom 79 were black; that of persons who actually served as jurors was 192, of whom 17 were black.

¶8Employing the statistical analysis approved by the Supreme Court in Castaneda v. Partida, 430 U.S. 482, 496 n. 17, 97 S.Ct. 1272, 1281 n. 17, 51 L.Ed.2d 498 (1977), we calculate standard deviations as follows: 670 X .13925 X .83 = 77.4. The square root of this figure is just under 9. 192 X .13925 X .83 = 22.2. The square root here is just under 5. These figures, 9 and 5, represent the respective standard deviations applicable.

¶9*996For the venire, the expectable number of black veniremen as a result of perfectly random selection is 670 X .13925, or 93. The actual number was 79. The discrepancy is 14, or 1.56 standard deviations.

¶10For actual jurors, the corresponding figure is 192 X .13925, or 27. The actual number was 17. The discrepancy is 10, or two standard deviations. As the Supreme Court observed “[I]f the difference between the expected value and the observed number is greater than two or three standard deviations, then the hypothesis that the jury drawing was random would be suspect to a social scientist.” Id.1

¶11Neither of these is, and neither is suspect. This is the only relevant evidence.2 The judgment of the district court is

¶12AFFIRMED.

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