In Parker v. Allen, No. 05-16907 (April 20, 2009), the Court affirmed the denial of habeas relief to an Alabama inmate convicted of a 1988 murder.
The Court rejected Parker’s Batson challenge to the peremptory strikes used against black venirepersons. The Court noted that the Alabama courts had considered this claim, and found no error in a finding of an absence of "purposeful discrimination."
The Court also rejected Parker’s argument based on the prosecutor’s improper vouching for prosecution witnesses in closing arguments. The Court noted that the Alabama courts had found the improper vouching occurred, but that this vouching did not materially affect the trial. This conclusion was not unreasonable.
The Court also found that the Alabama courts were not unreasonable in rejecting Parker’s Brady claim. Parker argued that the prosecution should have disclosed the criminal history record of one of its witnesses. The Court noted that the convictions were a matter of public record that Parker could have uncovered. Further, the jury heard about some of the witnesses prior convictions.
The Court rejected Parker’s ineffective assistance of counsel claims. Counsel were not ineffective for failing to present evidence that Parker was drug or alcohol impaired when he made a statement to police, because Parker was in fact cognizant of the situation. Counsel were not ineffective in failing to present evidence regarding the murder weapon; additional evidence would have been cumulative. Counsel were not ineffective in failing to present additional evidence of the absence of probable cause for Parker’s arrest, because Parker was not prejudiced by not having this additional evidence presented.
