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Batson v. Kentucky

Significance, Selecting The Jury, The Decision, Broadened In Scope, Further Readings



Petitioner

James Kirkland Batson

Respondent

State of Kentucky

Petitioner's Claim

That the state acted improperly in selecting a jury for Batson's trial.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner

J. David Niehaus

Chief Lawyer for Respondent

Rickie L. Pearson, Assistant Attorney General of Kentucky

Justices for the Court

Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Sandra Day O'Connor, Lewis F. Powell, Jr. (writing for the Court), John Paul Stevens, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting

Warren E. Burger, William H. Rehnquist

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

30 April 1986

Decision

That the case must return to the lower court, and the prosecutor shall have to provide to the judge valid, nondiscriminatory reasons for his dismissal of four African American potential jurors.

Related Cases

  • Swain v. Alabama, 380 U.S. 202 (1965).
  • Powers v. Ohio, 499 U.S. 400 (1991).
  • J.E.B. v. State ex rel. T.B., 511 U.S. 127 (1994).
  • State v. Bryant, 662 N.E.2d 846 (1995).

Additional topics

Law Library - American Law and Legal InformationNotable Trials and Court Cases - 1981 to 1988