Barfield v. Orange County

911 F.2d 644, 31 Fed. R. Serv. 216, 1990 U.S. App. LEXIS 15948, 54 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 40,226, 57 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1880, 1990 WL 122907
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedSeptember 12, 1990
DocketNo. 89-3340
StatusPublished
Cited by58 cases

This text of 911 F.2d 644 (Barfield v. Orange County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barfield v. Orange County, 911 F.2d 644, 31 Fed. R. Serv. 216, 1990 U.S. App. LEXIS 15948, 54 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 40,226, 57 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1880, 1990 WL 122907 (11th Cir. 1990).

Opinion

COX, Circuit Judge:

Brenda L. Barfield brought this civil rights action against Lawson Lamar individually and in his official capacity as Sheriff of Orange County, Florida. The complaint included a variety of civil rights claims pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1981, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. Barfield had been employed by the Sheriff as a corrections officer. She alleged, among other things, that she was the victim of racial discrimination in connection with her employment by the Sheriff, that her employment was terminated by the Sheriff because of her race (she is black), and that this termination violated her due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. All claims except for the Title VII claim were tried to a jury; the Title VII claim was simultaneously tried to the court. The jury found for the Sheriff, after which the trial judge also found in favor of the Sheriff. Barfield appeals, and we affirm.

[646]*646I. ISSUES ON APPEAL

Barfield raises a number of issues on this appeal; only two of them merit discussion. First, she argues that the trial court erred in denying her Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986), challenge to the Sheriffs use of two of his peremptory challenges to excuse black persons on the venire. Second, she argues that the trial court erred in permitting the Sheriff to offer in evidence during the jury trial a report of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and a report of the Florida Unemployment Appeals Commission concerning their investigation of Barfield’s complaints, including her complaint that her termination was discriminatory.

The issues we address do not require a detailed statement of the facts.

II. THE BATSON ISSUE

During jury selection, counsel for Sheriff Lamar used two of his three available peremptory challenges to strike the only two black persons called and seated. The following discussion took place at a sidebar conference:

MR. LEON: Your Honor, since we are up here, can I bring the objections that I have to the challenges?
THE COURT: Certainly. Any objections you have.
MR. LEON: There is a case called Bastón [sic] vs. Kentucky, Supreme Court case, and, Your Honor, we learned a couple of weeks ago, the Eleventh Circuit, of course, adopted the same appropriateness test. What we have, Your Honor, we have two blacks on the jury and both of the blacks have been peremptorily challenged by the Defendant.
We feel that under Batson, to perempt all the blacks on the panel — there were two ladies — and they are required to articulate a particular reason why the Defendants have, because presumption upon this case is that it’s racially motivated and this is a race case, Your Hon- or. We are very concerned that the only two blacks on the whole venire were struck by Defendants.
MR. SLATER: Judge, as to one juror who was employed with the Orlando Regional Medical Center, that was Ms. Sills, we have to, of course, keep in mind part of the problem in making decisions about her under the circumstances, we have, we don’t really know a whole lot about these people and voir dire is fairly abbreviated, so we necessarily have to go on some fairly superficial impression.
I felt that Ms. Sills was looking at me, and looking at my client, and looking at the Defendant’s table with an expression that conveyed to me some hostility, and it was my gut feeling, based on her facial expression that she was likely to not be fair and impartial to the Sheriff. For that reason, I feel that we should strike her.
As for Ms. Lemon, I believe was the other juror that was struck. She was a long time, I think 20 year employee, Orange County School Board. It’s been my experience when selecting jurors who are employees of the School Board and representing the School Board myself, that these people tend to be extremely pro-labor and pro-employee. And it’s for that reason I felt that there was a strong likelihood that Ms. Lemon might be biased in favor of the Plaintiff in this case.
THE COURT: Exception noted. I’ll leave it.

(Thereupon, the Bench Conference was concluded.) (R.6 at 33-35). The jury was then seated and sworn, after which the following colloquy occurred:

MR. LEON: Your Honor, if I may, as a point of clarification, I don’t know. Earlier, when we talked about the two black jurors being perempted by the Defendant, I didn’t want to appear I was acquiescing to the reasons put forth by Defense Counsel as being legitimate and not being pretext. I wanted to make it clear I wasn’t acquiescing as to the reasons.
THE COURT: I don’t know whether you agree with it or don’t agree with it; you didn’t say. But I don’t think that’s an issue.
[647]*647MR. LEON: I wanted to make that point clear. Thank you, Your Honor.
THE COURT: All right.

(R.6 at 36).

The Batson matter was not mentioned again until after the verdict, when it was asserted in Barfield’s motion for a new trial. In a written order denying the motion the court said:

At the time plaintiff raised objection to the challenge made of the jurors, defendant’s explanation of the reason for the challenge seemed reasonable and indicated it was a judgment call. It clearly appeared to be a neutral explanation related to the case and gave no indication the challenge was for other than a neutral reason.

In Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986), the Supreme Court held that “the Equal Protection Clause forbids the prosecutor to challenge potential jurors solely on account of their race or on the assumption that black jurors as a group will be unable impartially to consider the State’s case against a black defendant.” 476 U.S. at 89; 106 S.Ct. at 1719. The Court went on to hold that once a defendant establishes a prima facie case that potential jurors have been struck on account of race, the burden shifts to the State to come forward with a racially-neutral explanation for the challenge.

In Fludd v. Dykes, 863 F.2d 822 (11th Cir.1989), this court held that Batson applies in civil cases. In describing the applicable procedures, the Fludd court said:

[W]hen the objecting party shows that “he is a member of a cognizable racial group” and that the “relevant circumstances raise an inference” that his opponent “has exercised peremptory challenges to remove from the venire members of [the objecting party’s] race,” the objecting party has made out a prima facie case of purposeful discrimination. Batson, 476 U.S. at 96, 106 S.Ct. at 1723.

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Bluebook (online)
911 F.2d 644, 31 Fed. R. Serv. 216, 1990 U.S. App. LEXIS 15948, 54 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 40,226, 57 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1880, 1990 WL 122907, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barfield-v-orange-county-ca11-1990.