Ricky D. Adkins v. Warden, Holman CF

MARTIN, Circuit Judge:

Petitioner Ricky Adkins, an Alabama prisoner on death row, appeals from the District Court’s denial of his first petition for writ of habeas corpus, brought pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The District Court granted Mr. Adkins a Certificate of Appealability (COA) for the following issues: (1) whether the state unconstitutionally removed black jurors on the basis of their race in violation of Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986); and (2) whether Mr. Adkins was denied his constitutional rights to fair proceedings and due process because of a…