Supreme Court Holds That Racial Bias in Justice System Must Be Addressed

Supreme Court Holds That Racial Bias in Justice System Must Be Addressed

What do you think?

The gist of the decision is here

 . . .racial bias is "a familiar and recurring evil" so harmful to the administration of justice that it cannot be ignored. "[B]latant racial prejudice is antithetical to the functioning of the jury system and must be confronted," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the Court. Accordingly, "where a juror makes a clear statement that indicates he or she relied on racial stereotypes or animus to convict a criminal defendant, the Sixth Amendment requires that the no-impeachment rule give way in order to permit the trial court to consider the evidence of the juror’s statement and any resulting denial of the jury trial guarantee."

"[R]acial bias implicates unique historical, constitutional, and institutional concerns," the Court reasoned. "It is the mark of a maturing legal system that it seeks to understand and to implement the lessons of history." Given our nation's history of racial injustice, it remains critical to address racial bias in order "to ensure that our legal system remains capable of coming ever closer to the promise of equal treatment under the law that is so central to a functioning democracy."

For a fuller report go to

http://eji.org/news/supreme-court-holds-courts-must-address-racial-bias