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Fields v. Woodford

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Feb 22, 2002
315 F.3d 1062 (9th Cir. 2002)

Summary

holding it improper for the prosecutor to "describe[] the crimes . . . from [the victim's] perspective"

Summary of this case from Sechrest v. Baker

Opinion

Nos. 00-99005, 00-99006.

Argued and Submitted December 6, 2001.

Filed February 22, 2002. Amended October 23, 2002. Further Amended December 30, 2002.

David S. Olson, Agapay, Levyn Halling, Los Angeles, CA, for the petitioner-appellant-cross-appellee.

Carol Frederick Jorstad, Deputy Attorney General, Los Angeles, CA, for the respondent-appellee-cross-appellant.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Central District of California; Dickran M. Tevrizian, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-92-0465-DT.

Before: KOZINSKI, RYMER and SILVERMAN, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge RYMER; Concurrence by Judge SILVERMAN.


ORDER

The amended opinion filed October 23, 2002 [ 309 F.3d 1095], is further amended as follows.

Slip opinion at 23 [ 309 F.3d at 1107]: Replace Part II.C with the following:

Fields's claim that several of the jurors were racially prejudiced against him fails for lack of any substantial evidence. Even assuming that the declarations upon which he relies are admissible, they are vague and speculative; they do not show that any racist statements were made. Cf., e.g., United States v. Henley, 238 F.3d 1111, 1120-21 (9th Cir. 2001) (juror reportedly said something to the effect that "the niggers are guilty"); Tobias v. Smith, 468 F.Supp. 1287, 1289-90 (W.D.N.Y. 1979) (jury foreperson said "[y]ou can't tell one black from another.").


Summaries of

Fields v. Woodford

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Feb 22, 2002
315 F.3d 1062 (9th Cir. 2002)

holding it improper for the prosecutor to "describe[] the crimes . . . from [the victim's] perspective"

Summary of this case from Sechrest v. Baker

holding that relief will be granted when prosecutorial misconduct amounts to constitutional error, and such error is not harmless

Summary of this case from Smith v. Baker

stating the Ninth Circuit applies Brecht if misconduct of constitutional dimension is established

Summary of this case from Catlin v. Davis

In Fields v. Woodford, 315 F.3d 1062, 1063 (9th Cir. 2002), the Ninth Circuit found Fields' claim alleging that jurors were racially biased to lack substantial evidence because the claim was based on vague and speculative declarations that did "not show that any racist statements were made."

Summary of this case from Ervin v. Davis
Case details for

Fields v. Woodford

Case Details

Full title:Stevie Lamar FIELDS, Petitioner-Appellant-Cross-Appellee, v. Jeanne…

Court:United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Date published: Feb 22, 2002

Citations

315 F.3d 1062 (9th Cir. 2002)

Citing Cases

U.S. v. Decoud

In Fields v. Woodford, we rejected a defendant's claim that several jurors were racially prejudiced against…

Lewis v. Davis

A defendant is denied the right to an impartial jury if even one juror is biased or prejudiced. Fields v.…