Law Commons^™

Constitutional Law- Sixth Amendment- Systematic Exclusion Of Women From Jury Service Violates The Sixth And Fourteenth Amendments. Taylor V. Louisiana, 95 S. Ct. 692 (1975)., Kenneth J. Mulvey Jr.

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Appellant, a male, was convicted in a Louisiana state court of aggravated kidnapping. Prior to his trial, he had moved to quash the petit jury venire on the ground that women had been systematically excluded from it. Under the Louisiana Constitution and criminal procedure statutes, a woman could not be selected for jury service unless she had filed a written declaration with the court clerk of her desire to serve on a jury. The trial court denied appellant's motion. The Supreme Court of Louisiana affirmed, determining that the statutory provisions were "neither irrational nor discriminatory"' and thus did not violate …