• It is named for Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712 (1986), a criminal case in which the prosecution struck potential jurors on the basis of race. The principle of Batson was extended in later Supreme Court cases to civil litigants (Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Co., 500 U.S. 614, 111 S.Ct. 2077 (1991)) and to criminal defense attorneys (Georgia v. McCollum, 505 U.S. 42, 112 S.Ct. 2348 (1992)). The Court also applied it to peremptory challenges based on a juror’s sex (J.E.B. v. Alabama, 511 U.S. 127, 114 S.Ct. 1419 (1994)). See Fed. R. Civ. P. 47(b). [Cases: Constitutional Law 221(4); Jury 33(5.15). C.J.S. Juries §§ 443, 445–446, 450–456, 460.]
Batson challenge
Procedure. An objection that an opposing party has used a peremptory challenge to exclude a potential juror on the basis of race, ethnicity, or sex.