Burch v. Louisiana

Burch v. Louisiana, 441 U.S. 130 (1979), was a case decided by the United States Supreme Court that invalidated a Louisiana statute allowing a conviction upon a nonunanimous verdict from a jury of six for a petty offense.[1] The statute allowed for conviction if only five jurors agreed, and this was held to be a violation of the Sixth Amendment.[2]

Burch v. Louisiana
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued February 22, 1979 Decided April 17, 1979
Full case name	Burch v. Louisiana
Citations	441 U.S. 130 (more) 99 S. Ct. 1623; 60 L. Ed. 2d 96; 1979 U.S. LEXIS 87
Case history
Prior	State v. Wrestle, Inc., 360 So. 2d 831 (La. 1978); cert. granted, 439 U.S. 925 (1978).
Holding
A conviction by a nonunanimous six-person jury in a state criminal trial for a nonpetty offense violates the right of an accused to trial by jury guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments.
Court membership
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Associate Justices William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart Byron White · Thurgood Marshall Harry Blackmun · Lewis F. Powell Jr. William Rehnquist · John P. Stevens
Case opinions
Majority	Rehnquist, joined by Burger, White, Blackmun, Powell, Stevens
Concurrence	Stevens
Concur/dissent	Brennan, joined by Stewart, Marshall
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amends. VI XIV

Background

Burch was found guilty of showing obscene films by a nonunanimous six-member jury in the state of Louisiana. The court imposed a suspended prison sentence of two consecutive seven- month terms and fined him $1,000.

Question Before the Court

Does a conviction by a nonunanimous six-member jury in a state criminal trial for a nonpetty offense violate Burch's Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury as applied to the states through the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?

Decision of the Court

Justice Rehnquist cited Ballew v. Georgia,[3] noting that only two other states in the country allowed for a non-unanimous decision from a non-six person jury in a non-petty offense. This "near uniform judgment of the Nation" gave the Court a "useful guide" in determining constitutionally allowable in jury practices.[1]

References

1. Burch v. Louisiana, 441 U.S. 130 (1979).  This article incorporates public domain material from this U.S government document.
2. Varat, J. D.; et al. (2009). Constitutional Law Cases and Materials (Concise Thirteenth ed.). New York: Foundation Press. p. 356. ISBN 9781599414515.
3. Ballew v. Georgia, 435 U.S. 223 (1978).

External links

• Text of Burch v. Louisiana, 441 U.S. 130 (1979) is available from:  CourtListener  Findlaw  Google Scholar  Justia  Library of Congress  Oyez (oral argument audio)