Chapter 12 Case Law Flashcards
Preparing for Trials (11 cards)
Strauder v. West Virginia (1880)
Excluding people from juries just because of their race goes against the Equal Protection Clause.
The Supreme Court said West Virginia’s law that kept Black people off juries violated the 14th Amendment.
Batson v. Kentucky (1986)
The Supreme Court ruled that using peremptory challenges to keep African American jurors off a jury just because of their race breaks the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
It is unconstitutional for a prosecutor to do this, because everyone must be treated equally under the law.
State v. Hodge, 726 A.2d 531 (S.Crt. Conn. 1999)
The Court said it’s okay to remove potential jurors if their religious beliefs would stop them from doing their job.
But it’s not okay to exclude them just because of their religion, since that would break the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Holland v. Illinois (1990)
White defendants are allowed to speak up if Black jurors are unfairly left out.
Court said the Sixth Amendment doesn’t promise that a jury must have people of the same race as the defendant, as long as the group of possible jurors comes from a fair mix of the community.
Georgia v. McCollum (1992)
The Supreme Court said that in criminal cases, defense lawyers are not allowed to remove jurors just because of their race.
This rule applies to both sides, and doing so would break the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
J.E.B. v. Alabama (1994)
The Equal Protection Clause stops discrimination based on gender when choosing jurors.
The Supreme Court said it’s not allowed to exclude jurors just because of their sex, as that violates the 14th Amendment.
Foster v. Chatman (2016)
Were the Georgia courts wrong in saying there was no race-based discrimination in selecting jurors for Foster’s trial, which Batson v. Kentucky prohibits.
The Court, in a 7-1 decision written by Chief Justice Roberts, granted Timothy Foster a new trial.
Irvin v. Dowd (1961)
The petitioner didn’t get a fair trial, which he was entitled to under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment.
The Supreme Court said that too much news coverage made the jury biased, which took away the defendant’s right to a fair trial with an unbiased jury.
Rideau v. Louisiana (1963)
The Supreme Court decided that the news showed information that made people believe Rideau was guilty.
They said his right to a fair trial was broken because his confession was shown on TV before the trial, making it impossible to find an unbiased jury.
Passon v. Yount (1984)
Was the petitioner denied a fair trial under the 6th and 14th Amendment.
The Supreme Court said the trial judge was right to keep going because the jury wasn’t influenced by the public, and the judge could best judge the jurors’ fairness.
Mu’Min v. Virginia (1991)
Does the 6th Amendment require trial judges to ask jurors about specific pretrial publicity to ensure an impartial jury.
The Supreme Court said no, that asking general questions about media exposure was enough, and the judge didn’t need to ask specific questions about the publicity.
