Batson Vs Kentucky Case Study

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The purpose behind this paper is to inform the reader about the importance and the influential outcome of the Batson V. Kentucky case. A simple overview of the case is the offender James Batson was an African American male from Kentucky. Batson was accused of burglary and receiving stolen merchandise in 1981. During the court proceedings, the judge conducted voir dire to determine the ability of the jurors and discharge the jurors that did not meet the proper qualifications. When it was the prosecutors turn to make peremptory challenges, he utilized four out of the six challenges to remove the four African Americans who were left on the jury panel. This procedure shaped an all white jury. Defense counsel opposed this development prior to the …show more content…

The original offense involves James Kirkland Batson, an African American man in Louisville, Kentucky in 1981. One day in September of 1981, James Batson and an associate decided to visit a house in Louisville, Kentucky. The two offenders decided to steal two handbags that were located on a door knob located on a door next to a married white couple. These purses contained several items such as some expensive rings. Batson is suspected of then pawning these items including the rings for fifteen dollars apiece. James Batson was later recognized as the offender by not only the victim but also the neighbor and the pawn shop representative. This identification led to Batson’s arrest and conviction on second-degree burglary, receiving stolen goods, and for being a continual felonious offender. The crimes committed by James Batson and his accomplice were not extraordinary in any manner. In fact, the offense itself was straightforwardly charged. James Batson was identified as the offender who not only burglarized the home but also was identified as the person whom pawned some of the items that were reported as being stolen. Had this been where the story ended Batson would be just another criminal. What happens later during the criminal proceeding is what makes this case so