Mallett v. Missouri

Background

An Afro-American man, Jerome Mallett, was arrested for killing a white state trooper in Perry County, Missouri. Perry County had over 1,100 Afro-American residents in 1980. Mallett asked to move the trial because of prejudicial publicity. The trial judge sent the case to Schuyler County, which had three Afro-Americans in the 1980 census and, at trial time, had no Afro-American residents. Mallett was tried by an all-white jury, convicted, and sentenced to death. A special judge later ordered a new trial, but the state supreme court reversed that decision.

Reasoning

The central question raised by the dissent is whether sending a capital case to a county with no residents of the defendant’s race violates the Constitution’s ban on racial discrimination and the requirement that juries represent the community. Justice Marshall (joined by Justice Brennan) argued that the transfer functioned like purposeful exclusion of jurors and should be reviewed under the Court’s earlier rule forbidding racial discrimination in jury selection (Batson). The special judge found purposeful discrimination because counsel had raised concerns, other suitable counties with Afro-American residents were available, and the trial judge offered no specific neutral reason for choosing Schuyler County. Marshall would have granted review and vacated the death sentence.

Real world impact

Because the Supreme Court declined to hear the case, Mallett’s conviction and death sentence remain in effect. The dissent emphasizes that moving trials to counties without members of a defendant’s race can raise serious equal protection and jury-representation concerns, and that trial judges must explain venue choices. The dissent also questions whether rules like this would be applied retroactively in postconviction proceedings.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Marshall wrote the principal dissent, joined by Justice Brennan; Justice Blackmun also filed a separate dissent.