Berghuis v. Smith

Holding: Defendants have the right to a trial by a jury selected from a fair cross-section of the community. In this case, in which an African-American man convicted by an all-white jury selected from a pool that contained a very small percentage of African Americans, the Court held that the underrepresentation of African-Americans in the jury pool was not serious enough to warrant overturning the conviction, and that there was not enough evidence of systematic exclusion of black jurors from the pool.

Judgment: Reversed and remanded, 9-0, in an opinion by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on March 30, 2010. Justice Thomas filed a concurring opinion.

Briefs and Documents

Merits Briefs

• Brief for petitioner Mary Berghuis
• Brief for respondent Diapolis Smith
• Reply brief for petitioner

Amicus Briefs

• Brief for Criminal Justice Legal Foundation in Support of Petitioner
• Brief for Social Scientists, Statisticians, and Law Professors Jeffery Fagan, et al. in Support of Respondent
• Brief for the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. in Support of Respondent
• Brief for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the National Jury Project in Support of Respondent
• Brief for the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, the NAACP, et al. in Support of Respondent

Certiorari-stage documents

• Opinion below (6th Circuit) -
• Petition for certiorari
• Brief in opposition
• Amicus brief of Connecticut and six other states
• Petitioner's reply