The PEOPLE v. Butler

Truman Butler was found guilty of burglary and theft by a jury in the circuit court of Vermilion County and was sentenced to the penitentiary for a term of 1 to 3 years. He appeals directly to this court pursuant to our Rule 302(a) (2) alleging the denial of a constitutional right.

Defendant’s constitutional assertion is that “extreme racial imbalance in a jury venire which results in total exclusion of Negroes on the jury impaneled to try a criminal case against a Negro is a violation of due process and equal protection of the laws.” He states that Negroes comprise 12% of the population of…