Hale v. Kentucky
Encyclopedia
Hale v. Kentucky, 303 U.S. 613
(1938), was a United States Supreme Court case relating to racial discrimination in the selection of juries
for criminal trials. The case overturned the conviction of an African American man accused of murder because the lower court of Kentucky had systematically excluded African Americans from serving on the jury in the case. NAACP counsel, including Charles H. Houston, Leon A. Ransom and Thurgood Marshall
, represented Hale.
. No African Americans were selected as jury members within the previous 50 years although nearly 7,000 were eligible for jury service.
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(1938), was a United States Supreme Court case relating to racial discrimination in the selection of juries
Jury
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,...
for criminal trials. The case overturned the conviction of an African American man accused of murder because the lower court of Kentucky had systematically excluded African Americans from serving on the jury in the case. NAACP counsel, including Charles H. Houston, Leon A. Ransom and Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...
, represented Hale.
Background
Joe Hale, an African American, had been convicted in McCracken County, KentuckyMcCracken County, Kentucky
McCracken County is a county located in the Jackson Purchase, the extreme western end of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 65,514. The county seat, largest city, and only incorporated community is Paducah....
. No African Americans were selected as jury members within the previous 50 years although nearly 7,000 were eligible for jury service.
Results
Hale v. Kentucky was one in a series of cases where the Supreme Court overturned convictions of blacks for reason of discrimination in jury selections in the lower courts.See also
- List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 303
- Norris v. Alabama (1935)
- Hollins v. Oklahoma (1935)
- NAACP in KentuckyNAACP in KentuckyNAACP in Kentucky is very active with branches all over the state, largest being in Louisville and Lexington. The continues today to fight against injustices and for the equality of all people....
Further reading
- See a picture of the NAACP Legal Team 1933 including Ransom, professor at the Howard Law School, at "A Century of Racial Segregation, 1849-1950" in the Library of Congress exhibition, "With an Even Hand": Brown v. Board at Fifty. Accessed December 29, 2010. www.loc.gov/exhibits/brown/brown-segregation.html.