United States of America versus Francis Kerr

Background Francis Kerr was convicted by a jury of illegal reentry into the United States under 8 U.S.C. Section 1326(a) and (b)(2). The district court sentenced him to 30 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release. On appeal, Kerr argued that he received an unfair trial because the district court denied his challenge for cause against a prospective juror who was a United States Border Patrol agent. The court’s reasoning The court said the record showed the district court denied the for-cause challenge, but it also showed that the prospective juror ultimately did not serve on the panel. The court further noted that the record did not reveal that Kerr exercised a peremptory challenge to remove that juror. Based on that record, the panel concluded Kerr failed to show any error related to jury selection and impartiality. In sum, Kerr fails to show any error related to jury selection and impartiality. Slip op. at 2 What it means going forward The conviction and 30-month sentence remain in place, and the decision underscores that a defendant challenging jury-selection rulings must show a record-based error affecting the seated jury or the use of peremptory strikes.