William Rehnquist in Wikipedia.org political website

On Crime: Statistical racial sentencing disparities are inevitable

Warren McCleskey was convicted of armed robbery & murder in Georgia. McCleskey was African American; his victim was a white Atlanta Police Officer. The jury recommended the death penalty.

On appeal, McCleskey alleged that the state's capital sentencing process was racially discriminatory, in violation of the 14th Amendment. Statistical analysis in the "Baldus study" indicated individuals convicted of murdering whites were 4.3 times more likely to receive the death penalty than those with black victims.

The Supreme Court dismissed evidence of general disparities in sentencing, such as the Baldus study, as "an inevitable part of our criminal justice system." (Majority opinion by Powell; joined by Rehnquist, White, O'Connor, Scalia). The dissent found that even if capital punishment were constitutional, this could hardly be so where it was demonstrably biased against members of a particular race. (Dissent opinion by Brennan, joined by Marshall. Blackmun, Stevens)

Source: Wikipedia on 1987 SCOTUS 5-4 ruling in McCleskey v. Kemp Apr 22, 1987

On Crime: Black defendants have no right to blacks on jury

James Batson was an African American man convicted of burglary in a Kentucky circuit court by a jury composed entirely of white jurors. During jury selection, the prosecutor peremptorily challenged all four black persons, and a jury composed only of white persons was selected. The defense counsel moved to discharge the whole jury on the ground that the prosecutor's removal of the black jurors violated the Constitutional right to a jury drawn from a cross section of the community.

The Supreme Court ruled in a 7-2 decision in Batson's favor. The court ruled that the defendant first must show that he is a member of a recognizable racial group, and that the prosecutor has removed from the jury pool members of the defendant's race, [and that Batson met those criteria]. (Majority opinion written by Powell, joined by Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens, O'Connor.)

The dissenting opinion concluded that the majority misapplied equal protection doctrine. (Dissent by Rehnquist, joined by Burger)

Source: Wikipedia on 1986 SCOTUS 7-2 ruling in Batson v. Kentucky Apr 30, 1986

On Education: Admissions preference is unconstitutional racial balancing

When the University of Michigan Law School denied admission to Barbara Grutter, a female Michigan resident with a 3.8 GPA, she alleged that the Law School had discriminated against her on the basis of race. The University argued that there was a compelling state interest to ensure a "critical mass" of students from minority groups, particularly African Americans and Hispanics. The Supreme Court upheld the University's admissions policy.

The Court's ruling held that public universities are now allowed to use race as a plus factor in determining whether a student should be admitted. Prior to this case, affirmative action had to correct the effects of historic discrimination. (Majority opinion written by O'Connor, joined by Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer).

The dissent argued the Law School's "critical mass" admissions policy was an attempt to achieve an unconstitutional type of racial balancing. (Dissent by Rehnquist, joined by Scalia, Kennedy, and Thomas).

Source: Wikipedia on 2003 SCOTUS 5-4 ruling in Grutter v. Bollinger Jun 23, 1986

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