State v. Jackson

2017 Ohio 278
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 25, 2017
Docket27739
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

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Bluebook
State v. Jackson, 2017 Ohio 278 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Jackson, 2017-Ohio-278.]

STATE OF OHIO ) IN THE COURT OF APPEALS )ss: NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COUNTY OF SUMMIT )

STATE OF OHIO C.A. No. 27739

Appellee

v. APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE TRAVASKI T. JACKSON COURT OF COMMON PLEAS COUNTY OF SUMMIT, OHIO Appellant CASE No. CR 2013 11 3167 (B)

DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY

Dated: January 25, 2017

CARR, Presiding Judge.

{¶1} Appellant, Travaski Jackson, appeals his convictions by the Summit County Court

of Common Pleas. This Court affirms.

I.

{¶2} A.S. spent the evening of November 7, 2013, with his brother A.K., a few other

acquaintances, and two women. People came and went as the evening wore on, eventually

leaving A.S. and A.K. alone with the two women. While A.K. and the older of the two women

were upstairs, A.S. fell asleep on the living room couch in the presence of the younger woman.

He awoke to find two armed men wearing black masks standing over him. The men forced him

upstairs at gunpoint, where one of the two entered the bedroom and shot A.K. The men forced

A.S. back downstairs, with the man behind him holding a gun to his head. As A.S. pleaded for

his life, one of the men shot him in the head at close range. Police recovered personal items

belonging to both A.S. and A.K. in a box that they found in a basement room rented by Jackson, 2

who was identified by other participants in the crimes. When interviewed by the police one day

after the crimes, Jackson admitted that he had been present.

{¶3} A grand jury indicted Jackson for aggravated murder in violation of R.C.

2903.01(B), accompanied by a firearm specification; murder in violation of R.C. 2903.02(B);

attempted murder in violation of R.C. 2903.02(A) and R.C. 2923.02, accompanied by a firearm

specification; aggravated burglary in violation of R.C. 2911.11(A)(1), accompanied by a firearm

specification; aggravated robbery in violation of R.C. 2911.01, accompanied by a firearm

specification; kidnapping in violation of R.C. 2905.01(A)(3); felonious assault in violation of

R.C. 2903.11(A)(1); tampering with evidence in violation of R.C. 2921.12(A)(1); and having

weapons while under disability in violation of R.C. 2923.13(A)(2). Six of the charges were

accompanied by firearm specifications under R.C. 2941.145.

{¶4} A jury found Jackson guilty of each charge except aggravated murder, but found

itself deadlocked on that charge. The trial court dismissed that charge on the State’s motion,

merged Jackson’s convictions for attempted murder and felonious assault, and merged several of

the firearm specifications. The trial court sentenced him to life in prison on the murder charge

with parole eligibility after 15 years, to be served consecutively with total prison terms of ten

years for the remaining convictions and six years for the remaining firearm specifications.

Jackson filed this appeal. His seven assignments of error are rearranged for ease of discussion.

II.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR V

THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN PERMITTING THE STATE TO USE A P[ER]EMPTORY CHALLENGE IN A [RACIALLY] DISCRIMINATORY FASHION THEREBY DENYING MR. JACKSON EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER THE LAW AS GUARANTEED BY THE UNITED STATES AND OHIO CONSTITUTIONS. 3

{¶5} Jackson’s fifth assignment of error is that the trial court erred by permitting the

State to exercise a peremptory challenge against Juror Number 20, an African American male.

We disagree.

{¶6} Prospective jurors cannot be stricken for discriminatory purposes, and claims of

discriminatory use of a peremptory challenge are considered under a three-step analysis. Foster

v. Chatman, ___ U.S. ___, 136 S.Ct. 1737, 1747 (2016), citing Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79

(1986). In the first step, a defendant must make a prima facie showing that the state has

exercised a peremptory challenge on the basis of race. Id., quoting Snyder v. Louisiana, 552

U.S. 472, 476-477. Once the prima facie showing has been made, the State must offer a basis for

striking the prospective juror that is race-neutral. Id. Finally, the trial court must consider the

parties’ positions to determine whether the defendant has demonstrated purposeful

discrimination. Id. When a trial court finds that discriminatory intent has not been

demonstrated, that conclusion will only be reversed on appeal upon a demonstration that the trial

court’s decision is clearly erroneous. State v. Hernandez, 63 Ohio St.3d 577, 583 (1992),

following Hernandez v. New York, 500 U.S. 352 (1991). This standard of review does not

require us to defer to a trial court’s findings, but does require “a clear error” – and “[w]here

there are two permissible views of the evidence, the factfinder’s choice between them cannot be

clearly erroneous.” Hernandez, 500 U.S. at 369.

{¶7} In this case, the State expressed concern with Juror Number 20 not because of his

responses during voir dire, but because he appeared to have difficulty communicating. During

the subsequent voir dire of Juror Number 20 during a sidebar, he informed the trial court that he

had recently suffered a heart attack and that his speech was impaired. The juror acknowledged

that he got nervous when speaking and that it would take him time to express himself. He also 4

explained that he felt that he could make his opinion known in the context of jury deliberations.

During the trial court’s inquiry regarding the State’s peremptory challenge, the State expressed a

race-neutral justification:

Your Honor, during the Court’s questioning in additional voir dire, and also at sidebar, [Juror Number 20] appears to be physically challenged. He seems to smile inappropriately, and without embarrassing him I did not want to ask him if he has mental health issues.

He is difficult to understand. He is slow to answer questions, I thought. Like I told the Court, I just had trouble understanding him. I think it’s going to be problematic on this jury. I think they’re going to walk all over him.

***

And I guess, further, he indicated he had a heart attack, and I’m no doctor, but I’ve known many people to have heart attacks and also known people with strokes. He seems to be not exhibiting - - his speech would be more from a stroke than heart attack. I’m wondering if the heart attack has nothing to do with his demeanor, his verbal responses. I’m not sure; I can’t figure it out.

Jackson, who represented himself during voir dire, responded that the juror had maintained his

employment for 13-14 years and had articulated himself during voir dire. The trial court

concluded that the State had articulated a race-neutral justification for the peremptory challenge

and noted that he shared the State’s concern in some respects. Noting that the State’s position

was not sufficient to rise to the level of an excusal for cause, the trial court concluded that it was

a sufficiently race-neutral reason to permit the peremptory challenge and overruled Jackson’s

Batson challenge.

{¶8} There is no clear error in the trial court’s determination. In this respect, we note

that there is no pattern of excusing African American jurors from the venire apparent in the

record. In addition, the State did not express similar concerns about any nonminority jurors who

were permitted to serve, so there is no indication of disparate treatment. See, e.g., State v.

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2017 Ohio 278, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-jackson-ohioctapp-2017.