Petitioner appealed his murder conviction on the ground, among
others, that the evidence of systematic exclusion of Negroes from
grand and petit juries established a
prima facie case of
discrimination under
Whitus v. Georgia, 385 U.
S. 545. The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed because
"public officers are presumed to have discharged their sworn
official duties," and
"we cannot assume that the jury commissioners did not eliminate
prospective jurors on the basis of their competency to serve,
rather than because of racial discrimination."
Held: The State's burden to explain the "disparity
between the percentage of Negroes on the tax digest and those on
the venires" was not met by reliance on the stated
presumptions.
Certiorari granted; 223 Ga. 157,
154 S.E.2d
228, reversed and remanded.
PER CURIAM.
The motion for leave to proceed
in forma pauperis and
the petition for a writ of certiorari are granted.
Petitioner appealed his conviction for murder to the Georgia
Supreme Court where he sought reversal on the ground, among others,
that the evidence relevant to his claim of systematic exclusion of
Negroes from the grand and petit juries drawn in the county
established a
prima facie case of the denial of equal
protection within our
Page 389 U. S. 25
decision in
Whitus v. Georgia, 385 U.
S. 545.
* The Georgia
Supreme Court affirmed the conviction stating that
Whitus
was distinguishable because
"public officers are presumed to have discharged their sworn
official duties. . . . Under the testimony in this case we cannot
assume that the jury commissioners did not eliminate prospective
jurors on the basis of their competency to serve, rather than
because of racial discrimination."
223 Ga. 157, 162,
154 S.E.2d
228, 232.
We hold that the burden upon the State to explain "the disparity
between the percentage of Negroes on the tax digest and those on
the venires,"
Whitus, supra, at
385 U. S. 552,
was not met by the Georgia Supreme Court's reliance on the stated
presumptions.
See Arnold v. North Carolina, 376 U.
S. 773;
Eubanks v. Louisiana, 356 U.
S. 584;
Williams v. Georgia, 349 U.
S. 375;
Avery v. Georgia, 345 U.
S. 559;
Cassell v. Texas, 339 U.
S. 282;
Norris v. Alabama, 294 U.
S. 587. We therefore reverse the judgment of the Georgia
Supreme Court and remand for further proceedings not inconsistent
with our opinion.
It is so ordered.
* The record supports the following comparison of the salient
facts in
Whitus and in petitioner's case:
Whitus Petitioner' case
Over 21 population 42.6% Negro men 30.7% Negro
Jury Commissioners White (apparently) White
Source of juror Tax Digests sepa- 3 Tax Digests, two
names rated and identi- of which sepa-
fied as to race rated and identi-
fied as to race
Taxpayers 27.1% Negro 19.7% Negro
Negro jurors 9.1% grand jury 5.0% of jury list
venire and box (1 Negro
7.8% petit jury was on the grand
venire jury which in-
dicted petitioner)
Rebuttal evidence
by State None None
