Hidalgo v. Fagen

Hidalgo (plaintiff), who is Hispanic, sued Fagen (defendant) for negligence; during voir dire Fagen struck one Hispanic prospective juror without objection, then struck Gonzales, the last remaining Hispanic prospective juror, prompting a Batson objection from Hidalgo alleging ethnic discrimination. Fagen responded it struck Gonzales because of her youth and gender, not her ethnicity, and the district judge accepted that explanation, overruled the objection, and partially granted Fagen summary judgment; Hidalgo appealed, arguing the judge should have required Fagen to justify excluding all Hispanic jurors, should have independently scrutinized the first strike, and should have separately addressed the gender issue.