Why a landmark Supreme Court ruling has failed to keep racial bias out of jury selection

The Supreme Court created a test 40 years ago to root out racial bias in jury selection. Here, a death penalty scholar explains why it’s not working.

By: Austin Sarat, Amherst College, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: May 8, 2026

Words: 1,478

Last Updated: 2 months, 2 weeks ago

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By Austin Sarat, Amherst College

On April 30, 2026, Texas executed James Broadnax, a Black man who was sentenced to death for the robbery and murder of two men in 2008.

Before the jury was seated, the prosecutor moved to dismiss each of the seven Black people from the jury pool. Citing court documents, CNN noted that he “(utilized) a spreadsheet during jury selection that bolded only the names of every Black juror” …

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