Turner v. Murray

Willie Turner (defendant), convicted of capital murder for killing a white store owner during an attempted robbery, proposed a voir dire question asking whether the racial difference between him and the victim would affect jurors' impartiality, but the trial judge rejected the question, leaving jurors unaware the victim was white; the jury convicted Turner and, after a capital-sentencing hearing where Turner presented mitigating evidence of mental disturbance, recommended death. Turner's habeas challenge to the voir dire refusal was rejected based on precedent holding that racial-bias questioning wasn't constitutionally required absent special circumstances, and Turner appealed to the Supreme Court.