The US supreme court appeared skeptical on Tuesday of whether jury selection in a trial was conducted appropriately when they heard oral arguments in a death penalty case about racial bias in jury selection stemming from Mississippi. The judge, Joseph Loper, allowed the juror strikes, despite objections from the defense counsel, and Mississippi’s supreme court upheld the conviction. “The question before us is whether the state supreme court was right when it said she waived her argument,” Sotomayor said. Seven years ago – in a case that also involved Evans, Loper and Mississippi’s highest court – the supreme court overturned the death sentence and conviction of Curtis Flowers, a Black man who had been tried six times dating back more than 20 years. The case before the supreme court on Tuesday has been making its way through the court system for decades.

Source: The Guardian March 31, 2026 19:20 UTC