OA1270 - A good court thingie! A famous case from 1986 gave us the “Batson rule” that prevents the use of “peremptory strikes” to remove people from juries on the basis of race. To this day, racial discrimination in jury selection continues to be a problem. But the Supreme Court recently reinforced the on-going utility of Batson challenges in two decisions… written by Kavanaugh? Tune in to learn about the history and modern application of this important protection of our rights.

Swain v. Alabama, 380 U.S. 202 (1965)
Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986)
J. E. B. v. Alabama ex rel. T. B., 511 U.S. 127 (1994)
Flowers v. Mississippi, 588 U.S. 284 (2019)
Pitchford v. Cain, 608 U.S. ___ (2026)
Batson “Justifications”
Catherine M. Grosso & Barbara O’Brien, A Stubborn Legacy: The Overwhelming Importance of Race in Jury Selection in 173 Post-Batson North Carolina Capital Trials, 97 Iowa L. Rev. 1531 (2012).
Shamena Anwar, Patrick Bayer, & Randi Hjalmarsson, The Impact of Jury Race in Criminal Trials, 127 Q.J. Econ. 1017 (2011).

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