Lawrence L. Simmons v. Howard L. Beyer and the Attorney General of the State of New Jersey, W. Cary Edwards

OPINION OF THE COURT

NYGAARD, Circuit Judge.

We granted Lawrence L. Simmons’ request for a certificate of probable cause and now must decide: (1) whether voir dire transcripts, missing after a 13-year delay between Simmons’ sentencing and direct appeal, are indispensable to review his claim that the prosecution improperly exercised its peremptory challenges to exclude African Americans from the jury, and (2) whether this delay violated Simmons’ constitutional right to due process and a speedy appeal.1 The district court denied Simmons’ reopened petition for a writ of habeas corpus. We will…