Home > Great American Court Cases > Batson v. Kentucky

Legal Citation: 476 U.S. 79 (1986)

Petitioner
James Kirkland Batson

Respondent
State of Kentucky

Petitioner's Claim
That the state acted improperly in selecting a jury for Batson's trial.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner
J. David Niehaus

Chief Lawyer for Respondent
Rickie L. Pearson, Assistant Attorney General of Kentucky

Justices for the Court
Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Sandra Day O'Connor, Lewis F. Powell, Jr. (writing for the Court), John Paul Stevens, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting
Warren E. Burger, William H. Rehnquist

Place
Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision
30 April 1986

Decision
That the case must return to the lower court, and the prosecutor shall have to provide to the judge valid, nondiscriminatory reasons for...