Overview
- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Thursday in favor of Terry Pitchford, finding merit in his claim that race played a role in the removal of Black prospective jurors at his trial.
- Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s majority opinion said the trial court failed to give Pitchford’s lawyers a fair chance to challenge the prosecution’s race-neutral explanations and relied on a record showing a pattern of juror strikes.
- Reporting and lower-court findings highlight former prosecutor Doug Evans’ history of dismissing Black jurors, and judges cited his prior conduct as part of the reason to scrutinize Pitchford’s jury selection.
- Pitchford was tried for a 2004 grocery-store robbery in northern Mississippi that ended in the owner’s killing and was sentenced to death even though the shooter was under 18 and ineligible for capital punishment.
- The decision applies Batson rules that bar race-based juror strikes, sends the case back to lower courts to decide remedy and next steps, and could widen scrutiny of how trial judges handle Batson objections in future cases.