9th Circuit voids L.A. murder conviction, cites prosecution bias

A federal appeals court unanimously overturned a Southern California man’s second-degree murder conviction Tuesday, ruling that a Los Angeles prosecutor improperly struck a prospective juror because she was a Latina.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said Anthony Castellanos, convicted of second-degree murder for a fatally shooting a 12-year-old, deserved a new trial because the prosecutor used a “factually erroneous” reason for removing the woman.

During jury selection in 2005, Castellanos’ lawyer argued that the prosecution struck four prospective Latino jurors because of their ethnicity.

The prosecutor denied the discrimination, and the trial judge allowed the strikes. The jury that eventually convicted Castellanos had seven Latinos, four non-Latino whites and one Asian.

Castellanos argued on appeal that the four Latinos had been removed because of race, which the U.S. Supreme Court has prohibited.

The 9thCircuit said the removal of only one juror because of race was enough to grant Castellanos a new trial and based its ruling on the strike of the woman. The three-judge panel said the prosecutor’s reason for the strike was not supported by the evidence.

Castellanos, a resident of Bell Gardens, was 17 at the time of the crime. He was in his apartment with two neighbors, Joey and Nicky Holguin, ages 11 and 12. Prosecutors said Castellanos shot Nicky in the head because he refused to join a gang. Castellanos was sentenced to 25 years to life.

The three-judge panel’s ruling overturned decisions by a California state appeals’ court and a federal district judge.

Judge Mary H. Murgia, an Obama appointee, wrote the decision, and Judge Stephen Reinhardt, a Carter appointee, and Judge John T. Noonan, Jr., a Reagan appointee, joined it.

Prosecutors could not immediately be reached for comment. The state may appeal the ruling, retry Castellanos or negotiate a plea agreement. A federal public defender who represented Castellanos declined to comment on the decision.

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