Duren v. Missouri
Encyclopedia
Duren v. Missouri 439 U.S. 357 (1979), was a United States Supreme Court
decision related to the Sixth Amendment
. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
, who later became a Supreme Court Justice
herself, argued for Duren in what became her last case before the Supreme Court as an attorney. Part of her argument was that making jury duty optional for women should be struck down because it treated women's service on juries as less valuable than men's.
panel, and again in a post-conviction motion for a new trial, he claimed that his right to trial by a jury
chosen from a fair cross section of his community was denied by provisions of Missouri law granting women who so request an automatic exemption from jury service. He claimed that this Missouri law violated his sixth amendment rights to an impartial jury.
, the Supreme Court held that systematic exclusion of women from the jury pool resulted in jury pools that were not representative of the general population.
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
decision related to the Sixth Amendment
Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights which sets forth rights related to criminal prosecutions...
. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She is the second female justice and the first Jewish female justice.She is generally viewed as belonging to...
, who later became a Supreme Court Justice
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States...
herself, argued for Duren in what became her last case before the Supreme Court as an attorney. Part of her argument was that making jury duty optional for women should be struck down because it treated women's service on juries as less valuable than men's.
Background
Duren was indicted in 1975 for first-degree murder and first-degree robbery. In a pretrial motion to quash his juryJury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
panel, and again in a post-conviction motion for a new trial, he claimed that his right to trial by a jury
Jury trial
A jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact which are then applied by a judge...
chosen from a fair cross section of his community was denied by provisions of Missouri law granting women who so request an automatic exemption from jury service. He claimed that this Missouri law violated his sixth amendment rights to an impartial jury.
Issues
Missouri state law at that time permitted women (and those over age 65) to be exempted from jury duty upon request. Furthermore, women who failed to show up for jury duty were automatically exempted. In Taylor v. LouisianaTaylor v. Louisiana
Taylor v. Louisiana, 419 U.S. 522 , is a significant Supreme Court of the United States case, which held women could not be excluded from a venire, or jury pool, on the basis of having to register for jury duty, thus overturning Hoyt v. Florida, the 1961 case that had allowed such a...
, the Supreme Court held that systematic exclusion of women from the jury pool resulted in jury pools that were not representative of the general population.