The Georgia Supreme Court reviewed the actions of a Floyd County prosecutor, Steve Lanier, in a 1987 murder case. Reports said that the Court appeared ‘troubled’ by the fact that all of the prospective jurors in the case who were black were dismissed in the trial of Timothy Tyrone Foster, who was at the teen a teenager. He was convicted of raping and killing an elderly Rome teacher.

Reports said that at least six of the nine justices indicated during arguments that black people were improperly singled out and kept off the jury.

Justice Elena Kagan said Foster’s case seemed as clear a violation ‘as a court is ever going to see’ of rules the Supreme Court laid out in 1986 to prevent racial discrimination in the selection of juries.

If the court agrees, Foster could get a new trial. However, it was also suggested that a technical issue might prevent the justices from deciding the substance of Foster’s case.

A decision in the case, Foster v. Chatman, 14-8349, is expected by late spring.

For a detailed version of the case Click here

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The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday from a man, Timothy Tyrone Foster, now 47, convicted to death for the killing of Queen Madge White, a 79 year-old school teacher in Floyd County back in 1987. The State’s High Court will decide if there was race discrimination in the jury section process.  Foster, a black man, was sentenced to death by an all-white jury.

Reports said that White was raped and strangled by Foster on August 27, 1986.

The Southern Center for Human Rights  in Atlanta alleged prosecutors noted black jurors on their notes from jury selection. They said that a statement was made by the prosecutor to the jury, stating the death sentence should be imposed to “deter other people out there in the projects from doing the same thing.” They discovered the notes 19 years after the trial though an open records request.

The group said that notes name each potential black juror, and each were highlighted on four different copies of the jury list with the work ‘black’ circled next to the race question.  Three of the prospective black jurors were identified in notes as “B#1,” “B#2,” and “B#3.”

The notes also show that the prosecutors’ investigator ranked the black prospective jurors against each other in case “it comes down to having to pick one of the black jurors.” Prosecutors struck all four black jurors out of the 42 qualified by the trial court to serve on the jury.

A decision will be announced at some point next year.