Flowers v. Mississippi

Late last week the United States Supreme Court decided Flowers v. Mississippi, 588 U.S. ___, ___ S. Ct. ___ (Jun. 21, 2019), holding in the context of a Batson challenge that the trial court committed clear error in concluding that the State's peremptory strike of a black prospective juror was not motivated in substantial part by discriminatory intent.  This post provides a summary of Flowers and also contains links to other School of Government resources discussing Batson. In the context of a Batson challenge, the trial court committed clear error in concluding that the State’s peremptory strike of a black prospective juror was not motivated in substantial part by discriminatory intent Flowers v. Mississippi, 588 U.S. ___, ___ S. Ct. ___ (Jun. 21, 2019).  In this murder case resulting in a death sentence, the Court held that the trial court committed clear error in concluding that the State’s peremptory strike of a black prospective juror was not motivated in substantial part by discriminatory intent.  The defendant Flowers, who is black, allegedly murdered four people at a furniture store in Winona, Mississippi, three of whom were white.  Flowers was tried six separate times for the murders; the same lead prosecutor conducted each of the trials.  A conviction in the first trial was reversed by the Mississippi Supreme Court on grounds of prosecutorial misconduct, with the court not reaching a Batson challenge raised in that proceeding.  A conviction in the second trial was reversed by the Mississippi Supreme Court on grounds of prosecutorial misconduct.  A [...]