Does the use of a gang name such as "Mexican Mafia" constitute an equal protection violation?

Several circuits have recognized that a defendant's constitutional rights may be violated by a trial infected with racial prejudice. See McFarland v. Smith, 611 F.2d 414, 416-19 (2d Cir.1979) (reversing conviction when prosecutor argued that black police officer would not fabricate testimony against a black

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The record in this case, however, does not support reversal on the basis of an equal protection violation. Although case law is mixed on whether a gang name such as "Mexican Mafia" should have been excluded, compare United States v. Abel, 469 U.S. 45, 48, 105 S.Ct. 465, 467, 83 L.Ed.2d 450 (1984) (excluding term "Aryan Brotherhood") with United States v. Winslow, 962 F.2d 845, 850 (9th Cir.1992) (allowing term "Aryan Warrior"), the core concern is whether "the argument shifts its emphasis from evidence to emotion." United States v. Doe, 903 F.2d 16, 25 (D.C.Cir.1990). If the prosecution's case, overall, was a "dispassionate and intelligent presentation of the evidence," the relevant use of a racial term is less likely to prejudice the outcome. United States v. Hernandez, 865 F.2d 925, 927-28 (7th Cir.1989) (declining to reverse drug conviction despite prosecutor's appeal to jury to send a message to "Cuban drug dealers").