Without hashing the charges against Batson, the crux of this case is whether or not the prosecution discriminated against Batson by systematically eliminating potential black jurors by using peremptory challenges, thus, violating Batson’s equal protection privilege. At the time, the case law that ruled this issue was Swain v. Alabama (1965), which virtually made it impossible for a defendant to prove that the prosecution was systematically discriminating on the basis of race or gender by putting the burden of proof on the defendant. In the case of Batson v. Kentucky (1986), the Supreme Court took into consideration two areas in examining this case – 1) the defendant made a timely and proper objection to the prosecution’s removal of all possible …show more content…
Alabama (1965). In Swain, the court recognized that a “State's purposeful or deliberate denial to Negroes on account of race of participation as jurors in the administration of justice violates the Equal Protection Clause" (Swain v. Alabama, 1965, pp. 203-204). In this case, that reaffirmed that opinion and cited several other cases that reaffirmed that opinion. However, the Court also cited Strauder v. West Virginia (1880)in that “A defendant has no right to a petit jury composed in whole or in part of persons of his own race” (pp.303, 305). It went on to say “[T]he Equal Protection Clause guarantees the defendant that the State will not exclude members of his race from the jury venire on account of race, or on the false assumption that members of his race as a group are not qualified to serve as jurors. By denying a person participation in jury service on account of his race, the State also unconstitutionally discriminates against the excluded juror. Moreover, selection procedures that purposefully exclude black persons from juries undermine public confidence in the fairness of our system of justice” (Batson v. Kentucky, 1986 pp.
In the Case of Missouri v. Seibert, a mother named Patrice Seibert was convicted of second degree murder. Patrice Seibert had a son named Jonathan who was twelve years old and had cerebral palsy. Jonathan Seibert suddenly died in his sleep, and his mother thought that she would be held responsible for his sudden death. Ms. Seibert then devised a plan with her two older sons and their friends. She wanted to cover up the death of Jonathan, so she conspired with her sons and their friends to cover up the death by burning down their mobile home. Donald Rector was a mentally ill individual who stayed with the Seibert’s and later died as the home went up in flames. Several days later, Seibert was taken into the police station and questioned about the mysterious mobile home fire. While being interrogated, the officer waved Ms. Seibert’s Miranda rights. She was questioned for thirty to forty minutes before she was given a break. While being questioned, the officer hoped that Ms. Seibert would voluntarily confess to the crimes that had taken place. After her break, she was then questioned a second time. This time, the officer turned on a recorder and then read Ms. Seibert her Miranda Warnings, and the officer also obtained a signed waiver of rights from Seibert.
The overall issue did Justice Vinson state in this case is the concept of the 14th Amendment which stipulates the equal protection clause. Thus, the petitioner will not get his full-constitutional right in the law school for Negroes that is not fully-equipped with facilities that will help him get his law degree. In addition, limited part-time educators for Negroes is unacceptable. Whereby, admission to the Texas University of Law School will provide him the best education that white people and other race achieved. Only then, that the 14th amendment will be
The Commonwealth of Virginia v. Allen (609 S.E.2d 4, Va. 2005) was a fascinating case. The case focused on two expert witness testifying for the state and the other for the defendant, and if they acted and behaved ethically during the proceedings. Successive information will be addressed to prove the thought process behind my opinion given in this case. The APA code of ethics and specialty guidelines will be used to support my reasoning. Furthermore, they will serve as a baseline of boundaries within the profession to determine the expert witness’ influences to the case as well as their behavior within the profession.
Facts: In Lexington, Kentucky, police officers followed a suspected drug dealer to an apartment building where he went. When they arrived outside of the door to the apartment where the suspect was they reportedly could smell marajuana. The police then knocked and shouted they they were there and in return they could hear what sounded like people destroying the evidence and running around. The police then knocked down the door and saw the respondent as well as drugs laying out without having to look anywhere. later the police found more drugs and paraphernalia doing a more in-depth search. “The Circuit Court denied respondent’s motion to suppress the evidence, holding that exigent
We find that the case does in fact violate the precedent Batson v. Kentucky which violated the 14th amendment protection clause. First the prosecutor had the intention to get rid of all juries that were black. One of the reasons is that in the prosecutor’s notes, the prosecutor have highlighted and marked with a “B” for anyone who was black. In addition the prosecutor had placed all of the black jurors on the “Definite NOs” list. On the list that the prosecutor had no white jurors were on the list. Finally the prosecutor had the names of the black jurors circled on his list. All of this violates the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment where everyone should be treated equally regardless of their
The case of Kent V. United States is a historical case in the United States. The Kent case helped lead the way in the development of a list of eight criteria and principles. This creation of these criteria and principle has helped protect the offender and public for more than forty-five years. Which as a reason has forever changed the process of waving a juvenile into the adult system (Find Law, 2014).
The United States Supreme Court consists of eight associate justices and one chief justice who are petitioned more than 5,000 times a year to hear various cases (Before the Court in Miller V. Alabama, 2012). At its discretion, the Supreme Court selects which cases they choose to review. Some of the selected cases began in the state court system and others began in the federal court system. On June 25, 2012 the justices of the Supreme Court weighed in on the constitutionality of life without parole for juvenile offenders. The case was Miller v. Alabama and actually included another case, Jackson v Hobbs, as well (2012). Both were criminal cases involving 14 year old boys who were
“The harm from discriminatory jury selection extends beyond that inflicted on the defendant and the excluded juror to touch the entire community. Selection procedures that purposefully exclude black persons from juries undermine public confidence in the fairness of our system of justice. Discrimination within the judicial system is most pernicious because it is ‘a stimulant to the race prejudice which is an impediment to securing to [black citizens] that equal justice, which the law aims to secure to all others.’” (72 A.B.A.J. 68, July, 1986) With the Court’s ruling new standards were set that required the defendant to show: --That they are members of a cognizable racial group and that the prosecutor has exercised peremptory challenges to remove from the venire members of the defendants’ race --The defendants may rely on the fact that peremptory challenges are a jury selection practice which allow those who are minded to discriminate to do so --That these facts and any other relevant circumstances raise an inference that the prosecutor used that practice to exclude the veniremen from the petit jury on account of their race. (Batson v. Kentucky 476 U.S. 79 [1986])
I still believe that the exclusion of a jury on the grounds of race, gender and sexual orientation violates your right to a fair trial. No matter what everyone should always have the right to a fair trial. You cannot determine whether someone is or is not suitable to be on a jury pool for certain factors such as race and
One of these cases was Smith v. Allwright. The outcome of this case declared that Texas' exclusion of black voters from primary elections, known as the "White Primary", unconstitutional. By winning this case Marshall not only paved the way for the removal of black voting laws, but he also made it public that the Supreme Court was no longer going to ignore the constitutional rights of African Americans, that had been discounted by state legislatures since the Civil War. In yet another governmental policy altering case Shelley v. Kraemer in 1948 the Supreme Court agreed with Marshall that courts could not enforce "restrictive covenants," private agreements not to sell land to blacks. (3) This time Marshall directed a blow at the state level courts, forcing them to become aware of the nation's new found view of civil liberties. In Sweat v. Painter in 1950 and in Sipuel v. University of Oklahoma in 1948, Marshall won unanimous decisions declaring "separate but equal" facilities for black professionals as well as graduate students in state universities unconstitutional. (3) First the state
Paul Butler is an African American lawyer whom practiced as a prosecutor (2) specializing in white collar criminal defense and civil litigation (3). He graduated with honors from both Yale University and Harvard Law School (4). Butler is currently a law professor at the Georgetown University Law Center (5). Paul Butler is now considered a scholar in racial law (6). This particular article enters into this subject. The question that the article Racially Based Jury Nullification: Black Power in the Criminal Justice system by Paul Butler is the role of race in black jurors’ decisions to acquit defendants in criminal cases, and what the role should be (1). Butler believes that this question is an important question to answer due to the
Jones v. North Carolina Prisoners’ Union Court cases over time have come forth and altered the course of this country and even the world. While this case didn’t really affect the world, Jones v. North Carolina brought forth an important question on prisoner’s rights. Jones v. North Carolina was a court case in 1977 that brought forth the debate if workers in prisons have the right to join a labor union. The details of the court case and thoughts on if the court was justified in their ruling will bring to light of what sort of value as a human being do prisoners have.
Can racial bias have an effect on the verdict of being guilty or innocent? The American judicial courtroom has been comprised of the nation’s many greatest racial discriminatory cases over the past century, but the most racially upstanding case, when referring to Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird includes The Scottsboro Trials. Both stories uprise in the 1930s, displaying a white supremacist mindset, which two cases fall into the conviction of rape. The Scottsboro case started on a train to northern Alabama to southern Tennessee, when nine African American boys, ranging in ages from 13-19, allegedly raped two “innocent” Caucasian women, Victoria Price and Ruby Bates. Racial discrimination uprises in American judicial system when shown in To Kill a Mockingbird and The Scottsboro Trials through the racial prejudice within the jury in the courtroom, easy accessibility to target African Americans, biased accusations, as well as the social pressure to serve in one’s defense.
The Pierce decision could not have happened prior to 1922, if Berea College v. Kentucky (211 U.S. 45 (1908)) and Plessy v. Ferguson (163 U.S. 537 (1896)) had not laid the ground work first. The Plessy case set the standard “separate but equal”, which meant that the state laws required racial segregation in public facilities. The Berea case upheld the rights of the states by prohibiting discrimination by admitting both black and white students in private school. Meyer v. Nebraska (262 U.S. 390 (1923)) granted the state power to assimilate those that were different to the American ideal of living.
In the novel, Native Son written by Richard Wright, protagonist Bigger gained “sight” after he killed a white person, and not just any white person, but the daughter of a millionaire. He put Mary’s lifeless corpse into the family’s furnace and in order for her to fit he chopped her head off. He began to see white people as less and less humane, and that is how Bigger consoled himself. His murder freed his soul and freed his belief that white people restrained his fate—the two concepts that bounded him to his black peers and what would have been his fate. He also murdered his girlfriend Bessy, due to panic and knowing that she’d get him in trouble.