Apr. 20, 2005 – The US Supreme Court heard arguments Monday over whether a California jury selection law discriminates against minority defendants.
The case involves Jay Shawn Johnson, a black man who was convicted in 1998 of killing his girlfriend's 18-month-old child.
Johnson's attorneys argued that the conviction was invalid because prosecutors used "peremptory challenges" to exclude the only three black potential jurors from the case. Under California law, such challenges by either side do not need to be explained except when the judge believes there is a "strong likelihood" of racial bias.
Johnson's supporters claim that California's law sets the standard too high and violates a 1986 Supreme Court ruling that prohibits attorneys from using race, religion, or gender as the reason for peremptory challenges.
Charles Hobson, an attorney for the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, told the Los Angeles Times that the decision could affect thousands of criminal defendants who claim that their juries were chosen based on racial prejudice.
A decision in Johnson v. California is expected in June.
