Reece v. Georgia

Background

A Black man was arrested in Cobb County, Georgia, for the rape of a white woman and was indicted three days later. He was held in jail, and counsel was appointed a day after the indictment. Before arraignment he moved to quash the indictment, alleging that Black people had been systematically excluded from the grand jury. At a first trial his motion was denied, he was convicted, and sentenced to death; the state court later ordered a new trial. At the second trial he again alleged racial exclusion and lack of counsel before indictment, the plea was rejected, and he was again convicted and sentenced to death. This appeal challenges Georgia’s practice requiring challenges to grand juries before indictment.

Reasoning

The Court asked whether the state rule that forces a defendant to object before indictment denied a meaningful chance to contest racial exclusion when no counsel was provided until after indictment. The record showed strong evidence that Black residents had been effectively excluded for many years and that only a few elderly or disqualified Black names appeared on jury lists. The Court relied on prior holdings that systematic exclusion violates equal protection and on Powell, which requires early counsel in capital cases. Because the accused was illiterate, had low mentality, and had no lawyer before indictment, the Court concluded he could not fairly exercise the pre-indictment challenge, so Georgia should have decided his motion on the merits.

Real world impact

The ruling forces state courts to allow defendants a real opportunity to contest racial exclusion from grand juries, and it stresses early provision of counsel in capital prosecutions. The judgment was reversed and the case remanded for further proceedings consistent with the opinion, so the final outcome may change on retrial.