Louisiana Supreme Court agrees to hear PJI Client’s Challenge to Jim Crow Juries
NEW ORLEANS – Today the Louisiana Supreme Court agreed to hear a case challenging non-unanimous jury verdicts.
Non-unanimous jury verdicts--also known as Jim Crow jury verdicts--come from the 1800s, when Louisiana lawmakers sought to silence the voices of Black jurors and convict more Black people. Jim Crow jury verdicts allowed people to be convicted even when one or two jurors thought the State had failed to prove a person to be guilty of a crime.
Nearly two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court said convictions with non-unanimous jury verdicts are unconstitutional and came from a Jim Crow law. Since then, Louisiana has been awaiting a decision from Louisiana’s high court about whether the ruling the U.S. Supreme Court made should result in new trials for people who had final convictions at the time of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling.
The Louisiana Supreme Court is posed to hear Mr. Reginald Reddick’s case later this year. Mr. Reddick is serving a life sentence even though not all the jurors agreed with the verdict.
“The Louisiana Supreme Court hearing this case will be a relief to both Mr. Reddick and the more than 1,500 people who have their fates in the hands of the Court.” Hardell Ward, managing attorney with Promise of Justice Initiative’s Jim Crow Jury Project and counsel for Mr. Reddick said.
Appellate courts have been reaching different conclusions on whether to grant new trials.
“It is troubling that in 2022 we are still fighting over whether people in prison should have a remedy for being convicted under a Jim Crow law,” Jamila Johnson, Deputy Director at the Promise of Justice said. “These harms have been generational, and we are hopeful the Louisiana Supreme Court will see how these convictions cannot stand.”
Coverage on the case:
Louisiana Supreme Court will consider whether ban on split-jury verdicts is retroactive - Nola.com, February 15, 2022
Louisiana Supreme Court to hear case that could determine fate of hundreds convicted by split juries - The Lens, February 15, 2022