Constitutional Law

Federal Judge Holds Peremptory Challenges Based on National Origin Unconstitutional

Federal District Court Judge William H. Pauley of the Southern District of New York adopted Magistrate Judge James Francis's reasoning that "the exercise of peremptory challenges on the basis of national origin is prohibited by the Fourteenth Amendment." A New York Times story described Judge Pauley's actions as affirming that "allowing American-born blacks on a Bronx jury but systematically excluding West Indians is discriminatory."

According to Judge Pauley's opinion, during jury selection, the prosecutor used peremptory challenges to exclude four prospective jurors from Jamaica and one from Trinidad, after which defense counsel objected that the prosecution had "knocked off every juror of West Indian descent." The state trial judge upheld the removal of the five jurors as insufficient evidence of discrimination, noting "that 'black people from the West Indies' was not a group constitutionally entitled to protection in this circumstance."

The state appellate court agreed, after which a habeas appeal was filed in federal court, resulting in Judge Francis's report and Judge Pauley's opinion that national origin is a prohibited basis for peremptory challenges. Judge Pauley ordered a hearing where "the prosecutor will be required to present legitimate non-discriminatory reasons for her exercise of peremptory challenges against the five prospective jurors of West Indian descent. Then the court will determine whether [the defense counsel] has satisfied his burden of showing discriminatory intent."

Full post as published by ACS Blog on March 05, 2008 (boomark / email).