Foster v. Chatman
Issues
Should the Georgia courts have recognized race discrimination under Batson v. Kentucky, which held that race cannot be used as a basis for striking jurors, where the prosecution used peremptory challenges to strike each potential black juror, resulting in an all-white jury in the petitioner’s death penalty case?
This case presents the Supreme Court with an opportunity to determine whether the Georgia courts erred in determining that the prosecution’s peremptory challenges were not based on race discrimination. See Brief for Petitioner, Timothy Tyrone Foster at 2–4; Brief for Respondent, Bruce Chatman, Warden, at 1–2. Petitioner Timothy Tyrone Foster contends that he was denied due process and the right to an impartial jury, because the prosecution used peremptory challenges to strike black jurors on the basis of race. See Brief for Petitioner at 2–3. Foster argues that the prosecution’s jury selection notes demonstrate intent to exclude black jurors from the jury and that the prosecution’s purported reasons for striking the black prospective jurors are insufficient in light of the corresponding notes. See id. at 27–28. Respondent Bruce Chatman counters that the prosecution established sufficient justification for striking each prospective black juror and that the notes were prepared in anticipation of a Batson challenge. See Brief for Respondent at 1–2. The Supreme Court’s decision in this case will provide greater clarity as to what constitutes a violation under Batson v. Kentucky.
Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties
Did the Georgia courts err in failing to recognize race discrimination under Batson v. Kentucky in the extraordinary circumstances of this death penalty case?
In 1986, Timothy Tyrone Foster was arrested for the murder of 79-year-old Queen Madge White in Rome, Georgia. See Foster v.
Edited by
Additional Resources
- Vikram David Amar, Locating the Problem of Race-Based Peremptory Challenges in a Broader Context: The Possibilities Raised by the Foster Case on the Court’s Docket, Verdict (August 28, 2015).
- Linda Greenhouse, The Supreme Court’s Gap on Race and Juries, The New York Times (August 6, 2015).
- Lawrence Hurley, U.S. Justices to Hear Georgia Inmate’s Race Claim Over Jury Selection, Reuters (May 26, 2015).
- Adam Liptak, Exclusion of Blacks From Juries Raises Renewed Scrutiny, The New York Times (August 16, 2015).