Litigants: | Ballew v. Georgia |
Arguedate: | November 1 |
Argueyear: | 1977 |
Decidedate: | March 21 |
Decideyear: | 1978 |
Fullname: | Claude D. Ballew v. State of Georgia |
Usvol: | 435 |
Uspage: | 223 |
Parallelcitations: | 98 S. Ct. 1029; 55 L. Ed. 2d 234; 3 Media L. Rep. 1979 |
Holding: | A criminal conviction based on a five person jury is unconstitutional, the minimum size for a jury hearing a petty offense is six. |
Plurality: | Blackmun |
Joinplurality: | Stevens |
Concurrence: | Stevens |
Concurrence2: | White (in judgment) |
Concurrence3: | Powell (in judgment) |
Joinconcurrence3: | Burger, Rehnquist |
Concurrence/Dissent: | Brennan (in judgment) |
Joinconcurrence/Dissent: | Stewart, Marshall |
Lawsapplied: | United States Constitution, Amendment VI |
Ballew v. Georgia, 435 U.S. 223 (1978), was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court that held that a Georgia state statute authorizing criminal conviction upon the unanimous vote of a jury of five was unconstitutional. The constitutional minimum size for a jury hearing petty criminal offenses was held to be six.[1]