Hunt v. Harrison

Plaintiff Bobbie Hunt, as special administrator of the estate of the decedent Ernest Hunt, brought suit against defendant Garth Harrison, the driver of the car that struck and killed the decedent. During jury selection the trial court determined that plaintiff violated Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 90 L. Ed. 2d 69, 106 S. Ct. 1712 (1986), and dismissed plaintiffs case as a sanction. Plaintiff appeals, claiming that the trial court improperly found that plaintiff violated Batson and that, even if a Batson violation occurred, dismissal of plaintiffs case with prejudice was an unprecedented…