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Why a landmark Supreme Court ruling has failed to keep racial bias out of jury selection
Researchers say Batson has led to few successful challenges, with only 68 capital cases reversed in 40 years, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
- Texas executed James Broadnax on April 30, 2026, the 40th anniversary of Batson v. Kentucky. Before seating the jury, the prosecutor dismissed all seven Black potential jurors using a spreadsheet that CNN noted bolded only their names.
- Following the Civil War and passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution, Black people were entitled to serve on juries nationwide in theory. The Supreme Court reaffirmed on April 30, 1986, that states cannot purposefully exclude jurors based on race.
- Duke University law professor James Coleman noted that "juries with two or more members of color deliberate longer, discuss a wider range of evidence, and collectively are more accurate." Yet the Death Penalty Information Center identified only 68 successful cases across 16 states reversing convictions due to racial discrimination.
- Prosecutors have learned to defend race-based challenges successfully, with courts generally accepting even the flimsiest excuses. A 2020 Berkeley Law report found the California Supreme Court identified a violation in only three cases over 30 years of Batson claims.
- Legal scholar Sarah Claxton argued that states enacted vague, subjective standards requiring "good moral character" to exclude Black citizens. Forty years of Batson history suggests the Supreme Court's ruling merely scratched the surface of systemic exclusion.
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Why a landmark Supreme Court ruling has failed to keep racial bias out of jury selection
In 1986, the Supreme Court barred prosecutors from striking jurors solely because of race. Bloomberg Creative/Getty ImagesOn April 30, 2026, Texas executed James Broadnax, a Black man who was sentenced to death for the robbery and murder of two men in 2008. Before the jury was seated, the prosecutor moved to dismiss each of the seven Black people from the jury pool. Citing court documents, CNN noted that he “(utilized) a spreadsheet during jury …
Coverage Details
Total News Sources24
Leaning Left4Leaning Right5Center8Last UpdatedBias Distribution47% Center
Bias Distribution
- 47% of the sources are Center
47% Center
L 24%
C 47%
R 29%
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