Curtis Giovanni Flowers, Petitioner v. Mississippi

Summary

The Court reversed the Mississippi Supreme Court's affirmation of Flowers' conviction, finding the trial court committed clear error in rejecting a Batson challenge. The Court concluded the State's peremptory strikes of black prospective jurors were motivated in substantial part by discriminatory intent based on the totality of circumstances, including history of strikes and disparate questioning. Justice Thomas dissented, arguing the state courts did not clearly err and the strikes were race-neutral.