Wisconsin v. Todd Mitchell (508 U.S. 476)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 11, 1993 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 508 U.S. 476 · 113 S. Ct. 2194
- Decided
- June 11, 1993
- Term
- October Term 1992
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Rehnquist
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Chief Justice Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court. Respondent Todd Mitchell’s sentence for aggravated battery was enhanced because he intentionally selected his victim on account of the victim’s race. The question presented in this case is whether this penalty enhancement is prohibited by the First and Fourteenth Amendments. We hold that it is not. On the evening of October 7,1989, a group of young black men and boys, including Mitchell, gathered at an apartment complex in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Several members of the group discussed a scene from the motion picture “Mississippi Burning,” in which a white man beat a young black boy who was praying. The group moved outside and Mitchell asked them: “‘Do you all feel hyped up to move on some white people?’” Brief for Petitioner 4. Shortly thereafter, a young white boy approached the group on the opposite side of the street where they were standing. As the boy walked by, Mitchell said: “‘You all want to fuck somebody up? There goes a white boy; go get him.’ ” Id., at 4-5. Mitchell counted to three and pointed in the boy’s direction. The group ran toward the boy, beat him severely, and stole his tennis shoes. The boy was rendered unconscious and remained in a coma for four days. After a jury trial in the Circuit Court for Kenosha County, Mitchell was convicted of aggravated battery. Wis. Stat. §§939.05 and 940.19(lm)…
Excerpt of a 22,708-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.