UC Law Journal
Abstract
The criminal defendant's right to inquire into the possible racial and ethnic prejudices of prospective jurors during voir dire examination has been restricted by the Supreme Court. This Comment traces the development of the Court's reasoning with regard to this right through the analyses of four seminal Supreme Court cases. The focus of this Comment is on the most recent pronouncement of the Supreme Court in this area, Rosales-Lopez v. United States. After discussing the implications of the Court's opinion in Rosales- Lopez, the Comment concludes that a constitutional standard protecting the right of all criminal defendants to direct questions to prospective jurors aimed at eliciting possible racial and ethnic prejudices during the voir dire examination is essential to ensure the sixth and fourteenth amendments' guarantee of a fair and impartial trial.
Recommended Citation
Nancy Lewis Alvarez,
Racial Bias and the Right to an Impartial Jury: A Standard for Allowing Voir Dire Inquiry,
33 Hastings L.J. 959
(1982).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_law_journal/vol33/iss4/4