Miller-El v. Dretke

During jury selection in Miller-El's capital murder trial, the prosecution used peremptory strikes to remove 10 of 20 Black venire members, citing their expressed reservations about the death penalty; but several white venire members voiced similar or stronger reservations and were not struck. The prosecution also requested a jury shuffle, which reorders panel members and can effectively remove those pushed to the back of the week's schedule, only when a large number of Black members were seated at the front of the panel, and questioned Black and white panelists differently; there was also a documented history of the prosecutor's office engaging in racially discriminatory jury selection. After the Batson standard replaced the earlier systematic-discrimination requirement, Miller-El's case worked through multiple rounds of state and federal review before the Supreme Court granted certiorari a second time.