Witherspoon v. Illinois
| Witherspoon v. Illinois | |
|---|---|
| Argued April 24, 1968 Decided June 3, 1968 | |
| Full case name | William C. Witherspoon v. The People of the State of Illinois |
| Citations | 391 U.S. 510 (more) 88 S. Ct. 1770; 20 L. Ed. 2d 776; 1968 U.S. LEXIS 1469 |
| Holding | |
| Stacking the jury with only jurors who would choose the death penalty violates the Sixth Amendment because it is not an impartial jury or a cross-section of the community. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Stewart, joined by Warren, Brennan, Fortas, Marshall |
| Concurrence | Douglas |
| Dissent | Black, joined by Harlan, White |
| Dissent | White |
| Laws applied | |
| Ill. Rev. Stat., c. 38 s. 743, U.S. Const. amends. VI, XIV | |
Witherspoon v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 510 (1968), was a U.S. Supreme Court case where the court ruled that a state statute providing the state unlimited challenge for cause of jurors who might have any objection to the death penalty violated the constitutional right to an impartial jury.