Washington v. Roberts

HARTZ, Circuit Judge.

Marcus Washington seeks to set aside his state-court murder conviction. We granted a certificate of appealability (COA) so that he could appeal the denial of four claims raised in his application for relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. See 28 U.S.C. 2253(c)(1)(A) (requiring COA to appeal denial of relief under § 2254). These claims are: (1) the State exercised peremptory jury challenges against African Americans in violation of Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986); (2) his rights under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d…