The Florida Jury Selection Blog

U.S. Supreme Court and Racially Discriminatory Strikes

The Supreme Court of the United States reversed a brutal murder conviction yesterday concluding that the prosecutor’s peremptory strike of a black college student appeared to be racially discriminatory. In Snyder v. Louisiana, 552 U.S. __ (2008) the Court held, in a 7 - 2 decision written by Justice Samuel Alito, that the trial court committed clear error in rejecting the defendant’s Batson objection to the prosecution’s peremptory strike. Justices Thomas and Scalia dissented.

The high Court reviewed the trial transcript and concluded that the two reasons proffered by the prosecution as justification for the strike (1: that the black student looked nervous, and 2: that he had a student-teaching obligation to fulfill) were pretextual. The Court observed that this prospective juror was 1 of more than 50 venire members expressing concern that jury service would interfere with work, school, family or other obligations, and therefore that the prosecutor’s explanation was implausible.

Add comment March 20th, 2008

Ban on Using Nationality to Exclude Jurors is Upheld

This Wednesday’s New York Times reports that a federal district court judge has concluded that allowing American-born blacks on a Bronx jury but systematically excluding West Indian-born blacks from the jury is discriminatory. Federal Judge William H. Pauley III concluded that prospective black jurors cannot be excluded  from jury service because of their national origin even though other blacks served on the jury. In other words, it is improper to exclude prospective jurors from a jury because of their national origin (as opposed to their race). The complete Times’ story can be viewed by clicking here: Ban on Using Nationality to Exclude Jurors is Upheld.

Add comment March 5th, 2008