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The U.S. Supreme Court prohibits attorneys in civil cases from striking jurors because of their race.
1989 (Oct 2)
The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit that prohibited attorneys in civil cases from striking jurors because of their race. Although the Supreme Court had barred criminal prosecutors from using their preemptory challenges in a racially discriminatory fashion in 1986, the Eleventh Circuit was one of the first courts in the nation to extend the rule to civil cases. The case reached the Supreme Court from Richmond County, Georgia, (of which Augusta is the county seat) where a Black man sued a white deputy sheriff who had "accidentally" shot him while arresting him on suspicion of drugs. In 1982, an all-white jury found in favor of the defendants, deputy sheriff Frank Tiller and former sheriff J. D. Dykes. However the plaintiff, Willie Fludd, contended that the jury selection process was biased and appealed the decision.
References:
- • Hornsby, Alton. Chronology of African-American History: Significant Events and People from 1619 to the Present. Detroit: Gale Research, 1995.