Jay Shawn Johnson v. California (545 U.S. 162)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 13, 2005 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 545 U.S. 162 · 125 S. Ct. 2410
- Decided
- June 13, 2005
- Term
- October Term 2004
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority author
- Justice Stevens
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court. The Supreme Court of California and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit have provided conflicting answers to the following question: “Whether to establish a prima facie case under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U. S. 79 (1986), the objector must show that it is more likely than not that the other party’s peremptory challenges, if unexplained, were based on impermissible group bias?” Pet. for Cert. i. Because both of those courts regularly review the validity of convictions obtained in California criminal trials, respondent, the State of California, agreed to petitioner’s request that we grant certiorari and resolve the conflict. We agree with the Ninth Circuit that the question presented must be answered in the negative, and accordingly reverse the judgment of the California Supreme Court. I Petitioner Jay Shawn Johnson, a black male, was convicted in a California trial court of second-degree murder and assault on a white 19-month-old child, resulting in death. During jury selection, a number of prospective jurors were removed for cause until 43 eligible jurors remained, 3 of whom were black. The prosecutor used 3 of his 12 peremptory challenges to remove the black prospective jurors. The resulting jury, including alternates, was all white. After the prosecutor exercised the second of his three peremptory…
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