State v. Gary

EAGLES, Judge.

I

Defendant moved unsuccessfully before trial to dismiss the indictments against him, alleging violation of his constitutional right to equal protection. Defendant, a black, showed that every grand jury foreman in Halifax County for the past thirty years has been white. According to the 1980 census, 47% of Halifax’ population is black. These facts are undisputed, and form the basis for defendant’s first assignment of error.

Both sides rely principally on two recent decisions of the United States Supreme Court. Rose v. Mitchell, 443 U.S. 545, 61 L.Ed. 2d 739, 99 S.Ct. 2993 (1979);…