Swain v. Alabama

Swain v. Alabama
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued December 8, 1964 Decided March 8, 1965
Full case name	Robert Swain v. Alabama
Citations	380 U.S. 202 (more)
Holding
The overall percentage disparity has been small and reflects no studied attempt to include or exclude a specified number of blacks.
Court membership
Chief Justice Earl Warren Associate Justices Hugo Black · William O. Douglas Tom C. Clark · John M. Harlan II William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart Byron White · Arthur Goldberg
Case opinions
Majority	White
Concurrence	Harlan
Concurrence	Black
Dissent	Goldberg, joined by Warren, Douglas
Overruled by
Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986)

Swain v. Alabama, 380 U.S. 202 (1965), was a case heard before the Supreme Court of the United States regarding the legality of a struck jury.

Background

Swain, a black man, was indicted and convicted of rape in the Circuit Court of Talladega County, Alabama, and sentenced to death. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court on the grounds that there were no black jurors. Of eligible jurors in the county, 26% were black, but panels since 1953 averaged 10% to 15% black jurors.

Opinion of the Court

The Supreme Court denied the appeal, because 8 of 100 empaneled jurors were black, but all were "struck" by peremptory challenges by the prosecution. The ruling for the majority stated, "The overall percentage disparity has been small and reflects no studied attempt to include or exclude a specified number of Negros."

Subsequent developments

This case recognized the peremptory challenge as a valid legal practice so long as it was not used intentionally to exclude blacks from jury duties. The precedent set in this case was overturned in Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986).

See also

• List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 380

Further reading

• Sommers, Samuel R.; Norton, Michael I. (2007). "Race-Based Judgments, Race-Neutral Justifications: Experimental Examination of Peremptory Use and the Batson Challenge Procedure". Law and Human Behavior. 31 (3): 261–273. doi:10.1007/s10979-006-9048-6. PMID 17123158.

External links

• Swain v. Alabama, 380 U.S. 202 (1965)