How Foster Can Be Useful to Defense Attorneys

Foster v. Chatman stands for the unremarkable principle that, under Batson v. Kentucky, a prosecutor’s purported race-neutral reasons for strikes will not be credited when the prosecutor’s file notes demonstrate a concerted effort to keep black prospective jurors off the jury. However, Foster has the potential to do more than remind defense attorneys and advocates working for justice system reform that Batson is still good law.