The Limits of Peremptory Challenges

Students on common law learn early on that one of the more interesting features of the common law legal system is the use of juries. How juries are selected varies greatly from one common law country to another, and arguably the American system of jury selection is the most confusing. In the U.S., the parties themselves have considerable control over the make-up of a jury through the use of something called peremptory challenges. Basically, such challenges allow lawyers to remove potential jurors for any reason . . . except for the wrong reason. So what is a wrong reason? Well, removing someone based solely upon their race is one, according the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1986 case of Kentucky v. Batson. This week the U.S. Supreme Court considered whether a prosecutor improperly excluded all black potential jurors from serving on a jury in a murder case because of their race. The reach of the Batson case has never really been totally clear, and now the Court appears to be ready to provide further guidance. The Christian Science Monitor has a nice summary of the case before the Court and how it could impact jury selection in the U.S.. It's worth a read.