Batson v. Kentucky facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Batson v. Kentucky |
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| Argued December 12, 1985 Decided April 30, 1986 |
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| Full case name | Batson v. Kentucky |
| Citations | 476 U.S. 79 (more)
476 U.S. 79; 106 S. Ct. 1712; 90 L. Ed. 2d 69; 1986 U.S. LEXIS 150; 54 U.S.L.W. 4425
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| Prior history | Defendant found guilty in Kentucky Circuit Court; Supreme Court of Kentucky affirmed; cert. granted, 471 U.S. 1052 (1985) |
| Subsequent history | Remanded |
| Holding | |
| Strauder v. West Virginia reaffirmed; prosecutors may not use race as a factor in making peremptory challenges; defendants must only make a prima facie showing on the evidence from their case to mount a challenge to race-based use of peremptories. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Powell, joined by Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens, O'Connor |
| Concurrence | White |
| Concurrence | Marshall |
| Concurrence | Stevens, joined by Brennan |
| Concurrence | O'Connor |
| Dissent | Burger, joined by Rehnquist |
| Dissent | Rehnquist, joined by Burger |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const., amend. XIV | |
Batson v. Kentucky was an important case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1986. This ruling said that a lawyer choosing a jury for a trial cannot remove people just because of their race.
Before this case, lawyers could use something called "peremptory challenges." This meant they could remove potential jurors without giving a specific reason. Sometimes, this rule was used to unfairly remove people of a certain race from a jury. This went against the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which promises equal protection under the law for everyone. The Batson case led to the term Batson challenge. This is when someone argues that a potential juror was removed for an unfair reason, like their race.
Contents
Why This Case Happened
The Story of James Batson
The case started with a man named James Kirkland Batson. He was an African American man accused of a crime. His trial took place in Louisville, Kentucky.
When it was time to pick the jury, all the people chosen for his trial ended up being white.
Picking the Jury
During the process of choosing jurors, both sides in the trial could remove people. Batson's lawyers removed nine possible jurors. The lawyers for the state (the prosecution) removed six.
Among the six people the prosecution removed were all four Black individuals who were being considered for the jury. Batson's lawyers felt this was unfair. They asked the judge for a new jury that better represented the community. However, the judge disagreed. Batson was then tried by the all-white jury and found guilty.
Court Decisions on the Case
Appeals and the Supreme Court
After being found guilty, Batson appealed his case. First, he went to the Kentucky Supreme Court, but they agreed with the original judge's decision.
Batson then took his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. This time, the outcome was different. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in Batson's favor. They decided it was wrong to remove the Black potential jurors without a good, non-racial reason.
What the Justices Said
Justice Marshall, one of the judges who agreed with the majority, called the decision "historic." However, he also said that this decision alone would not completely stop racial unfairness in jury selection. He believed that to truly end it, peremptory challenges should be removed entirely.
How This Case Changed Things
The Batson v. Kentucky ruling had a big impact. While it didn't change cases that had already been decided, it applies to all new trials.
Now, potential jurors cannot be removed from a jury if the only reason is their race. Later, in 1994, this rule was also extended to include gender. This means people cannot be removed from a jury just because they are male or female.
See also
In Spanish: Caso Batson contra Kentucky para niños
