Speaker v. State

More than a century ago, the United States Supreme Court invalidated a West Virginia statute providing that black citizens could not serve as jurors. Strauder v. West Virginia, 100 U.S. (Otto) 303, 25 L.Ed. 664 (1880). Although the means used by several states to exclude blacks have since become more subtle, the same pernicious practice has continued. See Swain v. Alabama, 380 U.S. 202, 231-238, 85 S.Ct. 824, 841-46, 13 L.Ed.2d (1965) (Goldberg, J., dissenting). Discrimination within the judicial system — particularly at any stage in the jury selection process — is most invidious because it…