Legal Definitions - Batson objection

A Batson objection is a formal challenge made during the jury selection process in a courtroom. It occurs when one party in a lawsuit believes that the opposing party has used a "peremptory challenge" to remove a potential juror for discriminatory reasons, specifically based on their race, ethnicity, or sex.

During jury selection, lawyers have a limited number of "peremptory challenges," which allow them to dismiss a potential juror without providing a specific reason. However, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Batson v. Kentucky (and later cases) that these challenges cannot be used to exclude jurors based on protected characteristics like race, ethnicity, or sex. If a judge agrees with a Batson objection, it can lead to various remedies, including reinstating the challenged juror or even a new jury selection process.

Here are some examples illustrating how a Batson objection might arise:

• Example 1 (Criminal Case - Race): In a high-profile criminal trial for alleged financial fraud, the prosecution uses several of its peremptory challenges to dismiss all potential jurors who are African American, even though their responses during questioning indicated no apparent bias. The defense attorney, observing this pattern, would then raise a Batson objection, arguing that the prosecution is systematically excluding jurors based on their race, which is unconstitutional and undermines the fairness of the jury.

• Example 2 (Civil Case - Gender): A female plaintiff is suing a large tech company for gender discrimination in the workplace. During jury selection, the defense attorney for the tech company uses all of their peremptory challenges to remove every female candidate from the jury pool, leaving only male jurors. The plaintiff's attorney would likely make a Batson objection, asserting that the defense is improperly using its challenges to exclude jurors based on their sex, thereby attempting to create a jury potentially biased against the female plaintiff.

• Example 3 (Criminal Case - Ethnicity): In a criminal case involving a defendant accused of a hate crime, the defense attorney uses peremptory challenges to strike all potential jurors who identify as being of a particular Middle Eastern ethnicity, despite their answers during questioning suggesting impartiality. The prosecutor, noticing this pattern, would then raise a Batson objection, arguing that the defense is improperly using its peremptory challenges to exclude jurors based on their ethnic background, violating the principle of a fair and unbiased jury selection.