Batson v. Kentucky (1986)

Batson v. Kentucky (1986) is a landmark Supreme Court case that established that prosecutors cannot exclude potential jurors solely based on their race. The case involved a Black man, James Batson, who was convicted after the prosecution struck all Black jurors from the jury pool. The Court ruled that such racial exclusions violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This decision requires courts to ensure jury selection is fair and impartial, preventing discrimination based on race during the process of choosing jurors for a trial.