Previously, such as here, I have written about how Batson/Edmonson challenges could be used with respect to people with disabilities not being allowed to serve on juries. The interesting thing about Batson and its civil equivalents is that whenever I have asked litigators if they have encountered the situation of using Batson to prevent exclusion of persons with disabilities from serving on juries, they tell me they have not. On November 7, 2022. The Court of Appeals of the State of California, Second Appellate District, in Unzueta v. Akopyan, a published decision, here, holds that under California law people who associate with persons with disabilities have a right to be free from discrimination in jury selection. As usual, the blog entry is divided into categories and they are: facts; court’s reasoning that trial court erred in denying the Batson/Wheeler challenges; and thoughts/takeaways. Of course, the reader is free to focus on any or all of the categories.

 

I

Facts

 

Plaintiff alleged in her complaint that the defendant, the anesthesiologist during the birth of her child, negligently administered an epidural injection resulting in the paralysis of plaintiff’s right leg below the knee. Plaintiff lost at trial and appealed. On appeal, the appellate court held that the trial court erred in denying Batson/Wheeler (Wheeler is the California equivalent of Batson), challenges and said that the trial court had to revisit each of the challenged jurors to see if impermissible discrimination had occurred. If such impermissible discrimination occurred, the trial court was to reinstate the judgment. On remand, defendant’s attorney asserted that two of the prospective jurors were excluded because they had a family member who was disabled and the attorney feared the family member’s disability would cause the particular juror to be biased in favor of the plaintiff. One of the prospective jurors had a child with a disability. The other prospective juror had a husband who was disabled, unable to work, and had an outstanding Worker’s Compensation matter. The trial court found those justifications to be race neutral and plaintiff appealed saying that excluding the two prospective jurors based upon the disabilities of their family members was by itself discrimination based upon protected characteristics and therefore impermissible.

 

II

Court’s Reasoning That Trial Court Erred in Denying the Batson Challenges

 

  1. While peremptory challenges are a long-standing feature of both the civil and criminal systems in America, the exercise of even a single peremptory challenge solely on the basis of race or ethnicity offends the guarantee of equal protection of the laws under the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It also violates a defendant’s right to trial by a jury drawn from a representative cross-section of the community under the California Constitution.
  2. The prohibition against the exercise of peremptory challenges to include prospective jurors on the basis of group bias applies to both civil and criminal cases.
  3. Excluding evening a single prospective juror for reasons impermissible under Batson/Wheeler requires reversal.
  4. The three-step process for evaluating a Batson/Wheeler motion works like this: 1) the party objecting to the strike must establish a prima facie case by showing facts sufficient to support an inference of discriminatory purpose; 2) if the objector succeeds in establishing a prima facie case, the burden shifts to the proponent of the strike to offer a permissible nonbiased justification for the strike; and 3) if the proponent does offer a nonbiased justification, the trial court must decide whether that justification was genuine or instead whether impermissible discrimination impact motivated the strike.
  5. At the second step of the Batson/Wheeler analysis, the party exercising the peremptory challenge cannot justify an allegedly impermissible challenge with a different impermissible justification (i.e. that two of the six jurors had family members with disabilities). In other words, getting past the second step is not going to happen if what is happening is the substitution of an impermissible justification for another.
  6. When the trial court makes a sincere and reasoned effort to evaluate the proffered reasons for the strike, the reviewing court defers to its conclusions on appeal and examines only whether substantial evidence supports them.
  7. Batson/Wheeler challenges are subject to independent review on appeal.
  8. The United States Supreme Court has extended Batson/Wheeler motions to prevent the exercise of peremptory challenges to those based upon gender.
  9. The California Constitution prohibits the use of peremptory challenges on account of bias against an identifiable group distinguished on racial, religious, ethnic, or similar grounds.
  10. In 2000, California legislature expanded the list of groups subject to a Batson/Wheeler motion to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, or similar grounds.
  11. In 2015, the California legislature expanded the list further by referencing §11135 of the Government Code, which specifically references mental disability, physical disability, genetic information, and medical condition among other things. §11135(d) also applies to people who associate with a person who is perceived or has any of the characteristics listed in the Government Code.
  12. Taking the 2000 and 2015 amendments together, means using peremptory challenges to exclude prospective jurors on the basis a person with whom the juror is associated with has a disability is impermissible.
  13. In a footnote, the court noted that it was clear from the legislative history that the intent of the 2000 and 2015 amendments was to align the limitations on peremptory challenges with California law prohibiting other forms of discrimination by the state, a state agency, or entities funded by the state.
  14. No dispute exists that the justification for excluding two of the jurors was their association with family members with disabilities. In fact, the attorney on remand focused specifically on the disability of the family members. The trial court in ruling on the motion likewise relied on the disability of the family members.

 

III

Thoughts/Takeaways

 

  1. While I received my J.D. degree from the University of San Diego (I also have an LL.M. in health law from Depaul), I never took the California bar. So, I am not licensed in California. Much of this decision turns on California law. When it comes to the rights of people with disabilities in California, it is important to get a California licensed attorney involved, particularly with California’s Unruh Act often being in play.
  2. As the court points out in a footnote, the United States Supreme Court and federal courts have yet to expand Batson/Wheeler to peremptory challenges based on a prospective juror’s disability. In fact, the two cases cited in the footnote by the court are cases that I have mentioned in blog entries previously here and here. The court also notes that the California Supreme Court has not addressed the application of Batson/Wheeler to jurors based upon their disability or the disability of a family member.
  3. The Second Court of Appeals talks about sole cause and it also talks about permissible reasons motivating a strike. The use of both terms in its opinion raises the question of whether Batson/Wheeler challenges in California turn on sole cause or motivating factor (I am not a licensed attorney in California). At the federal level, it would seem after Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, that sole cause would not be the standard.
  4. While the United States Supreme Court has not specifically weighed in on whether Batson and its civil progeny, Edmondson, applies to persons with disabilities, a plain reading of Tennessee v. Lane, which we have discussed many times, such as here, would suggest that the only logical conclusion is that Batson does apply.
  5. A plain reading of Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, which we discussed here, also suggests that Batson challenges would be in play for the LGBTQ community as well.
  6. The case serves as an important reminder that state laws can go further than federal laws.
  7. The disadvantage of Batson is that it relies on attorneys to make the challenge. The prospective juror has no ability to do it themselves.
  8. Another case involving a person with a disability wanting to serve on a jury is the Fifth Circuit decision in Crawford v. Hinds County Board of Supervisors, here. In that case, the Fifth Circuit said that because there was a likelihood the person with a disability would be called for jury duty to serve in an inaccessible courthouse, that gave him standing to pursue a disability discrimination claim. That case subsequently settled.