United States v. Armstrong
United States Supreme Court
517 U.S. 456 (1996)
Armstrong (defendant), facing federal crack cocaine and firearms charges, sought discovery and dismissal alleging racially selective federal prosecution, supporting his claim with a study of 24 Black defendants prosecuted in 1991 and various hearsay affidavits and a newspaper article; the district court ordered broad discovery from the government, which refused to comply, resulting in dismissal, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed before the government sought Supreme Court review.
Whether a federal criminal defendant making a selective-prosecution claim must demonstrate that the government's prosecutorial policy was motivated by a discriminatory purpose and that similarly situated individuals of different races were not prosecuted.