''J. E. B. v. Alabama ex rel. T. B.'', 511 U.S. 127 (1994), was a

landmark decision Landmark court decisions, in present-day common law legal systems, establish precedents that determine a significant new legal principle or concept, or otherwise substantially affect the interpretation of existing law. "Leading case" is commonly ...

of the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

holding that

peremptory challenge The right of peremptory challenge is a legal right in jury selection for the attorneys to reject a certain number of potential jurors or judges without stating a reason. The idea behind peremptory challenges is that if both parties have contributed ...

s based solely on a prospective juror's sex are unconstitutional. ''J.E.B.'' extended the court's existing precedent in ''

Batson v. Kentucky ''Batson v. Kentucky'', 476 U.S. 79 (1986), was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court ruling that a prosecutor's use of a peremptory challenge in a criminal case—the di ...

'' (1986), which found race-based peremptory challenges in criminal trials unconstitutional, and '' Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Company'' (1991), which extended that principle to civil trials.. As in ''Batson'', the court found that sex-based challenges violate the

Equal Protection Clause The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "nor shall any State... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal pr ...

Background

On behalf of T.B., the mother of a minor child, the state sued J.E.B. for

child support Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (state or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is ...

Jackson County, Alabama Jackson County is the northeasternmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 52,579. The county seat is Scottsboro, Alabama, Scottsboro. The county was ...

. During jury selection, challenges intentionally targeted male potential jurors resulting in an all-female jury.

Decision

The majority opinion was written by

Justice Blackmun Harold Andrew Blackmun (November 12, 1908 – March 4, 1999) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 to 1994. Appointed by President Richard Nixon, Blackmun ultima ...

. Justice O'Connor wrote a concurring opinion, and Justice Kennedy separately concurred in the judgment. Chief Justice Rehnquist filed a separate dissenting opinion.

Justice Scalia Antonin Gregory Scalia (March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016. He was described as the intellectual an ...

also filed a dissenting opinion, which was joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justice Thomas.

References

External links

* United States Supreme Court cases Batson challenge case law United States civil procedure case law 1994 in United States case law 1994 in Alabama Legal history of Alabama United States Sixth Amendment jury case law Jackson County, Mississippi Child support United States Supreme Court cases of the Rehnquist Court United States gender discrimination case law {{SCOTUS-Rehnquist-stub

Background

Decision

See also

References

Further reading

External links