Hoyt v. Florida
| Hoyt v. Florida | |
|---|---|
| Argued October 19, 1961 Decided November 20, 1961 | |
| Full case name | Gwendolyn Hoyt v. Florida |
| Citations | 368 U.S. 57 (more) 82 S. Ct. 159; 7 L. Ed. 2d 118; 1961 U.S. LEXIS 136 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Appeal from the Supreme Court of Florida |
| Holding | |
| The Florida jury service is constitutional | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Harlan, joined by unanimous |
| Concurrence | Warren |
| Concurrence | Black |
| Concurrence | Douglas |
Overruled by | |
| Taylor v. Louisiana (1975) | |
English Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Hoyt v. Florida, 368 U.S. 57 (1961), was an appeal by Gwendolyn Hoyt, who had killed her husband and received a jail sentence for second degree murder. Although she had suffered mental and physical abuse in her marriage and showed neurotic, if not psychotic, behavior, a six-man jury deliberated for just 25 minutes before finding her guilty. They sentenced her to 30 years of hard labor. Hoyt claimed that her all-male jury led to discrimination and unfair circumstances during her trial. The decision was subsequently overruled by Taylor v. Louisiana in 1975.