Swain v. Alabama
Encyclopedia
Swain v. Alabama, 380 U.S. 202
(1965), was a case heard before the Supreme Court of the United States
regarding the legality of a struck jury
.
Swain, a black man, was indicted and convicted of rape
in the Circuit Court of Talladega County, Alabama
, and sentenced to death. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court on the grounds that there were no black jurors. Of eligible jurors in the county, 26% were black, but panels since 1953 averaged 10% to 15% black jurors.
The Supreme Court denied the appeal, because 8 of 100 empaneled jurors were black, but all were "struck" by peremptory challenge
s by the prosecution. The ruling for the majority stated, "The overall percentage disparity has been small and reflects no studied attempt to include or exclude a specified number of blacks."
This case recognized the peremptory challenge as a valid legal practice so long as it was not used intentionally to exclude blacks from jury duties.
The precedent was overturned in Batson v. Kentucky
, .
Shirley v. teeylor]]
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...
(1965), was a case heard before the Supreme Court of the United States
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...
regarding the legality of a struck jury
Struck jury
A struck jury is a multi-step process of selecting a jury from a pool. First potential jurors are eliminated for hardship. Second jurors are eliminated for cause by conducting voir dire until there is a pool available that is exactly the size of the final jury plus the number of peremptory...
.
Swain, a black man, was indicted and convicted of rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
in the Circuit Court of Talladega County, Alabama
Talladega County, Alabama
Talladega County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Talladega is a Muscogee Native American word derived from TVLVTEKE, which means "border town." As of 2010, the population was 82,291...
, and sentenced to death. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court on the grounds that there were no black jurors. Of eligible jurors in the county, 26% were black, but panels since 1953 averaged 10% to 15% black jurors.
The Supreme Court denied the appeal, because 8 of 100 empaneled jurors were black, but all were "struck" by peremptory challenge
Peremptory challenge
Peremptory challenge usually refers to a right in jury selection for the defense and prosecution to reject a certain number of potential jurors who appear to have an unfavorable bias without having to give any reason...
s by the prosecution. The ruling for the majority stated, "The overall percentage disparity has been small and reflects no studied attempt to include or exclude a specified number of blacks."
This case recognized the peremptory challenge as a valid legal practice so long as it was not used intentionally to exclude blacks from jury duties.
The precedent was overturned in Batson v. Kentucky
Batson v. Kentucky
Batson v. Kentucky, , was a case in which the United States Supreme Court ruled that a prosecutor's use of peremptory challenge—the dismissal of jurors without stating a valid cause for doing so—may not be used to exclude jurors based solely on their race...
, .
Shirley v. teeylor]]
External links
- Swain v. Alabama, 380 U.S. 202 (1965)