Court denies selective prosecution claim
The federal appeals court here has upheld the armed-career criminal conviction of an Atlanta man, rejecting his claim that he was targeted for the enhanced penalty because he was African-American.
In a decision Wednesday, the court found that Ronregus Jordan failed to produce enough evidence to establish a selective prosecution claim. Jordan was convicted at trial in 2009 and then sentenced to 20 years in prison for being found in possession of a .38-caliber revolver in August 2007 and having more than three prior felony convictions.
In pre-trial motions, Jordan's attorney presented documentation that showed African-Americans accounted for about 93 percent of the armed-career criminal prosecutions by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta, while blacks accounted for significantly less than that percentage of the population.
In its opinion, a unanimous three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Jordan's data did not include the criminal histories of other, similarly situated defendants. It also noted Jordan had previously been convicted of eight prior felonies.
Jordan's trial judge correctly denied his claim of selective prosecution, the court said, "because, at the very least, he failed to establish discriminatory effect."
About the Author
Bill Rankin has been an AJC reporter for more than 30 years. His father, Jim Rankin, worked as an editor for the newspaper for 26 years, retiring in 1986. Bill has primarily covered the state’s court system, doing all he can do to keep the scales of justice on an even keel. Since 2015, he has been the host of the newspaper’s Breakdown podcast.
