No. 19-330

Harshad Shah v. United States

Lower Court: Ninth Circuit
Docketed: 2019-09-11
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)
Tags: bribery-trial civil-rights due-process fair-trial impartial-jury plain-error-review racial-animus sixth-amendment structural-error trial-by-jury
Key Terms:
DueProcess
Latest Conference: 2020-01-17 (distributed 2 times)
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Is the use of racial animus by the government in a bribery trial a structural error and a denial of the Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury?

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTIONS PRESENTED FOR REVIEW One hundred and thirty years ago, in Ex Parte Virginia, 100 U.S. 339, 345 (1880), this Court condemned the exploitation of racial animus used by a Virginia state judge to exclude African Americans from the jury selection process. Over a century later, in Buck v. Davis, 187 8.Ct. 759, 776-777 (2017) this Court again denounced the use of racial animus; this time to condemn stereotype testimony from a defense expert that “black men” are predisposed to violence simply because they are “black.” The same year, in Pefia-Rodriguez v. Colorado, 137 S.Ct. 855, 867-870 (2017), this Court again condemned racial animus in the sexual assault trial of a Mexican man, when, during deliberations, a juror said that “nine out of ten Mexican men were guilty of being aggressive toward women and young girls.” 1. Is it structural error and a denial of the Sixth Amendment right to “trial by an impartial jury” when the government expressly uses racial animus in a bribery trial by having an official government witness testify that people from India, like Petitioner Harshad Shah, are predisposed to bribery simply because they are Indian? 2. Given the injection of racial animus at trial, did the Ninth Circuit create a conflict with this Court’s precedent denying Petitioner due process and a fair trial when it misapplied plain error review to a predisposition jury instruction that “seriously affect[ed] the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings”?! ! [United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 732-736 (1993).]

Docket Entries

2020-01-21
Petition DENIED.
2019-12-30
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/17/2020.
2019-12-16
Brief of respondent United States of America in opposition filed.
2019-11-07
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including December 16, 2019.
2019-11-06
Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 14, 2019 to December 16, 2019, submitted to The Clerk.
2019-10-15
Response Requested. (Due November 14, 2019)
2019-10-02
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/18/2019.
2019-09-23
Waiver of right of respondent United States of America to respond filed.
2019-09-09
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 11, 2019)

Attorneys

Harshad Shah
Ezekiel E. CortezLaw Offices of Ezekiel E. Cortez, Petitioner
Ezekiel E. CortezLaw Offices of Ezekiel E. Cortez, Petitioner
United States of America
Noel J. FranciscoSolicitor General, Respondent
Noel J. FranciscoSolicitor General, Respondent