Wayne Prater v. City of Philadelphia , 539 F. App'x 35 ( 2013 )

NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
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No. 12-3979
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WAYNE PRATER,
Appellant
v.
CITY OF PHILADELPHIA; POLICE OFFICER EDWARD SOLVIBILE, Badge #1694,
individually and as a police officer for the City of Philadelphia;
POLICE OFFICER JOSEPH WALSH, BADGE #5315
individually and as a police officer for the City of Philadelphia
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On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
(D.C. Civil Action No. 11-cv-00667)
Magistrate Judge: Honorable Timothy R. Rice
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Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)
October 16, 2013
Before: RENDELL, FISHER and GARTH, Circuit Judges
(Opinion filed: November 7, 2013)
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OPINION
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PER CURIAM
Wayne Prater appeals from a judgment of the United States District Court for the
Eastern District of Pennsylvania, entered after a jury trial in his civil rights case. Prater
raises essentially two claims in his brief on appeal: (1) the elimination of the only Black
juror in the jury pool violated Batson,1 and (2) the jury did not follow the instructions
given by the judge. We will dismiss the appeal.
It is the appellant’s duty to arrange for the trial transcript, and we may dismiss an
appeal if an appellant fails to do so. See Fed. R. App. P. 3(a)(2); 10(b)(1); 3d Cir. L.A.R.
11.1; Richardson v. Henry, 902 F.2d 414, 416 (5th Cir. 1990) (dismissing appeal by
inmate in civil rights action for failure to provide a transcript). Because Prater did not
order transcripts, we have no record of the jury selection process, and similarly cannot
assess whether the jury followed the instructions given by the judge. We require the
transcript not only to assess the merits of these issues, but to determine whether Prater
preserved them for appellate review. Accordingly, we will dismiss the appeal.
1
Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986), holds that the 14th Amendment’s equal
protection clause bars the use of peremptory strikes to exclude jurors on the basis of race.
The Supreme Court has also extended Batson to civil cases. Edmonson v. Leesville
Concrete Co., Inc., 500 U.S. 614, 631 (1991).
2