Batson v. Kentuck (1986)

Untold Stories: The Cases That Shaped the Civil Rights Movement

This week I look at Batson v. Kentucky (1986), which deals with preventing black people from serving on the jury. In this case, James K Batson was charged with two counts of burglary and receipt of stolen property. During his trial, the prosecutor, a white man, struck all the black people from the potential jury pool. Batson was convicted by an all-white jury and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He appealed his case to the US Supreme Court arguing that the use of what's called a "peremptory challenge" to remove all the black people from the potential jury pool violated his 6th Amendment's right to a fair trial and the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. What emerged from this case is what's now known as the Batson Rule. Listen to find out what that is exactly and to discover the remarkable way this story ended. Resources: Oral Argument - https://www.oyez.org/cases/1985/84-6263 "War on Jails" by James Batson - https://www.amazon.com/War-Jails-Enlighten-James-Batson-ebook/dp/B07965WM98 Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss a post! You can also follow me at my blog palookesworld.com Twitter: @plaookesworld Instagram: @palookesworld www.palookesworld.com