Washington v. Roberts

Petitioner-appellant Marcus Washington sought to set aside his Kansas-state-court murder conviction. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a certificate of appealability (COA) so that he could appeal the denial of four claims raised in his application for relief under 28 U.S.C. 2254. In his petition, petitioner claimed: (1) the State exercised peremptory jury challenges against African Americans in violation of "Batson v. Kentucky," (476 U.S. 79 (1986)); (2) his rights under "Miranda v. Arizona," (384 U.S. 436 (1966)), were violated by the use of statements he made while in custody; (3) his trial attorney was ineffective in not calling him as a witness on the Miranda issue to show that he was in custody; and (4) the prosecutor’s closing argument improperly challenged his mental-disease defense. The United States District Court for the District of Kansas rejected petitioner's claims and dismissed his petition. Finding no reversible error, the Tenth Circuit affirmed. View "Washington v. Roberts" on Justia Law