State v. Horton

Steven R. Horton appeals from an order denying his § 974.06, STATS., postconviction motion for relief from a 1987 conviction for second-degree intentional homicide and endangering safety by conduct regardless of life. Horton, who is white, argues that his right to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment was violated when the prosecutor used a peremptory strike to remove the sole black person from the venire. Horton relies on Powers v. Ohio, 499 U.S. 400, 409-10 (1991), decided after his conviction was final, which held that a defendant has standing under the Equal Protection Clause to…