Marshall Grace, a Black man, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute at least 500 grams of methamphetamine after DEA surveillance led to a 2020 traffic stop where officers found 441 grams of methamphetamine in his trunk. Grace admitted ownership of the drugs and told officers he had been buying eight ounces monthly for two years to supply dealers Theodore Tardie and Jason Lonie in New Orleans' Hollygrove neighborhood.
Writing for the panel, Circuit Judge Carl Stewart found that while the district court 'erroneously elicited additional testimony from Davis in derogation of settled law,' Grace failed to meet his burden of proving racial discrimination under Batson v. Kentucky. Stewart noted that 'even after striking Davis and White, two black jurors were empaneled on the jury with one black juror as an alternate,' which 'negates Grace's argument that the low percentage of empaneled black jurors indicated racial discrimination.'
During jury selection in August 2024, prosecutors used peremptory strikes on two of five Black jurors, including Edward Davis, whom they said would not be 'a great juror for the Government' because he had seven sons. When Grace's counsel challenged the strike under Batson, the district court initially questioned the explanation but then sua sponte questioned Davis further, learning one of his sons had served jail time, before denying the Batson challenge.
The ruling affirms Grace's 120-month sentence while establishing that trial courts cannot impermissibly supplement prosecutors' race-neutral explanations through additional questioning. The decision reinforces that defendants bear the burden of proving purposeful discrimination in jury selection challenges, even when trial court procedures deviate from established precedent.