DUREN V. MISSOURI
439 U.S. 357 (1979)
NATURE OF THE CASE: This was a dispute over a law that resulted in an average of less
than 15% women on jury venires.
FACTS: Duren (D) was indicted in 1975 in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Mo., for
first-degree murder and first-degree robbery. In a pretrial motion to quash his petit jury
panel, and again in a post-conviction motion for a new trial, he contended that his right to
trial by a jury chosen from a fair cross section of his community was denied by provisions
of Missouri law granting women who so request an automatic exemption from jury service. Both
motions were denied. D established that according to the 1970 census, 54% of the adult
inhabitants of Jackson County were women. He also showed that for the periods June-October
1975 and January-March 1976, 15 11, 197 persons were summoned and that 2,992 of these, or
26.7%, were women. Of those summoned, 741 women and 4,378 men appeared for service. Thus,
14.5% (741 of 5,119) of the persons on the postsummons weekly venires during the period in
which petitioner's jury was chosen were female. 16 In March 1976, when D's trial began,
15.5% of those on the weekly venires were women (110 of 707). Petitioner's jury was selected
from a 53-person panel on which there were 5 women; all 12 jurors chosen were men. None of
the foregoing statistical evidence was disputed. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.
ISSUE:
RULE OF LAW:
HOLDING AND DECISION:
LEGAL ANALYSIS:
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