Batson v. Kentucky
- Decided
- April 30, 1986
- Docket
- 84-6263
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 16,401 timesOverruled (verified)Overruled (verified) · Maddox v. State
What later courts said
- holding that a prosecutor’s use of peremptory challenge to exclude jurors based solely on their race is unconstitutional — United States v. Green (2010)
- holding that Equal Protection Clause forbids litigants from exercising peremptory strikes on the basis of race — United States v. Wallace (1994)
- holding that a prima facie case may be shown by “the totality of relevant facts” — United States v. Lawrence Lewis, Jr. (1988)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
[*82] Justice Powell delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case requires us to reexamine that portion of Swain v. Alabama, 380 U. S. 202 (1965), concerning the evidentiary burden placed on a criminal defendant who claims that he has been denied equal protection through the State’s use of peremptory challenges to exclude members of his race from the petit jury.[1]
I
Statutes cited
Cite this
Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986)Read the full opinion
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