According to legal standards, which of the following is a limitation on peremptory challenges?

According to legal standards, which of the following is a limitation on peremptory challenges?

• A. Challenges cannot be made without a reason
• B. Jurors cannot be struck for socioeconomic status
• C. Jurors cannot be dismissed based on race
• D. Only qualified jurors may be challenged

Answer: (C)

Peremptory challenges allow attorneys to dismiss potential jurors without stating a cause, but this practice is subject to important legal limitations, especially concerning discrimination. Striking jurors based solely on race is prohibited, as established by landmark Supreme Court rulings such as Batson v. Kentucky. This decision emphasizes that using race as a reason for exclusion violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Therefore, the correct answer identifies a critical legal boundary in the use of peremptory challenges, ensuring that the jury selection process upholds fairness and equality. Other choices present factors that may influence jury selection practices but do not accurately reflect the established legal limitations on peremptory challenges. For instance, challenges can be made without a specific reason, socioeconomic status may influence jury perceptions but is not legally protected in the same manner as race, and all jurors must meet qualifications, but this does not pertain to the misuse of peremptory challenges based on impermissible criteria like race.

Peremptory challenges allow attorneys to dismiss potential jurors without stating a cause, but this practice is subject to important legal limitations, especially concerning discrimination. Striking jurors based solely on race is prohibited, as established by landmark Supreme Court rulings such as Batson v. Kentucky. This decision emphasizes that using race as a reason for exclusion violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Therefore, the correct answer identifies a critical legal boundary in the use of peremptory challenges, ensuring that the jury selection process upholds fairness and equality.

Other choices present factors that may influence jury selection practices but do not accurately reflect the established legal limitations on peremptory challenges. For instance, challenges can be made without a specific reason, socioeconomic status may influence jury perceptions but is not legally protected in the same manner as race, and all jurors must meet qualifications, but this does not pertain to the misuse of peremptory challenges based on impermissible criteria like race.