Fernando Sifuentes v.Commonwealth, 16-SC-485-MR (rendered 2/15/18)(not to be published).
Sifuentes was convicted of first degree rape,
first degree sodomy, and incest. The
Court reversed Sifuentes’ convictions and sentence and remanded for a new trial
for two reasons.
First, Mr. Jimenez was the sole
Latino on the jury pool. The
Commonwealth used a peremptory strike on him.
When the defense challenged the removal under Batson, the prosecutor merely responded he looked “belligerent” and
“hostile” when he glanced at the Commonwealth’s counsel table. The Court found
a Batson violation: “Although an observation of a juror's body
language or demeanor may properly prompt a peremptory challenge, to avoid a Batson violation, counsel must state
with reasonable specificity how that particular body language forms the basis
of the challenge.” Because the
prosecutor offered no explanation as to why Jimenez’s hostile expression made
him an unfit juror, the trial court could not have found that the reason was
legitimate under step three of Batson
Second, the bare bones jury
instructions given by the court on the rape and sodomy counts were duplicative
and resulted in non-unanimous verdicts. The instructions provided no
specificity, and included a three year range of time. “However, the jury was not presented with any
specific act or a specific date of either rape or sodomy instance upon which to
base a conviction. B.M.'s testimony as to a three-year time frame in which
dozens of instances of inappropriate sexual behavior are alleged to have
occurred does not support one count of each crime.”
Emily Rhorer of Appeals represented
Sifuentes on direct appeal to the Kentucky Supreme Court.
