Ex Parte Duncan

The petitioner, Joe Cecil Duncan, Jr., seeks a writ of mandamus to compel the recusal of a circuit court judge on the ground that he is biased and prejudiced.

Duncan was convicted of the capital murder of Elizabeth Cobb in Dallas County; the jury returned a verdict of life without parole.1 The trial court overrode the jury's verdict and sentenced Duncan to death. The Court of Criminal Appeals reversed and remanded for a hearing on the question whether the principles of Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712,90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986), had been violated in the selection of the jury. Duncan…