FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT - PEREMPTORY CHALLENGES BY DEFENDANTS AND THE EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE

• NCJ Number: 147986
• Journal: Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 83 Issue: 4 Dated: (Winter 1993) Pages: 920-943
• Author(s): M A Gemskie
• Date Published: 1993
• Length: 24 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This Note examines the use and limitations of peremptory challenges.

Abstract

In Georgia v. McCollum, the United States Supreme Court held that a criminal defendant may not exercise a peremptory challenge in a racially discriminatory manner. This Note argues that the Court reasonably protected the equal protection rights of the juror to a greater extent than it protected the defendant's statutory right to exercise unfettered peremptory challenges. The Note agrees with the Court's reasoning, specifically the analysis of whether a defendant really is and should be considered a state actor; whether the state has standing to challenge a defendant's use of peremptory challenges; and whether a juror's constitutional right to equal protection should outweigh a defendant's statutory right to exercise peremptory challenges. Furthermore, this Note analyzes the implications of Georgia v. McCollum on future uses of peremptory challenges, particularly when a minority defendant challenges a nonminority juror. Footnotes