Thaddeus Donald Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Co., Inc.

Decided June 3, 1991. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 89-7743 · 500 U.S. 614 (1991) · Cited 1,403 times

Holding

A private litigant in a civil case may not use peremptory challenges to exclude jurors on account of race.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court. Read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 6–3.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Polk County v. Dodson · 454 U.S. 312 (1981)
• Powers v. Ohio · 499 U.S. 400 (1991)
• Batson v. Kentucky · 476 U.S. 79 (1986)
• Lugar v. Edmondson Oil Co. · 457 U.S. 922 (1982)
• Swain v. Alabama · 380 U.S. 202 (1965)
• Jackson v. Metropolitan Edison Co. · 419 U.S. 345 (1974)
• Terry v. Adams · 345 U.S. 461 (1953)
• National Collegiate Athletic Assn. v. Tarkanian · 488 U.S. 179 (1988)
• West v. Atkins · 487 U.S. 42 (1988)
• Shelley v. Kraemer · 334 U.S. 1 (1948)
• Burton v. Wilmington Parking Authority · 365 U.S. 715 (1961)
• Tulsa Professional Collection Services, Inc. v. Pope · 485 U.S. 478 (1988)
• Flagg Bros., Inc. v. Brooks · 436 U.S. 149 (1978)
• Holland v. Illinois · 493 U.S. 474 (1990)
• Blum v. Yaretsky · 457 U.S. 991 (1982)
• Rendell-Baker v. Kohn · 457 U.S. 830 (1982)
• Marsh v. Alabama · 326 U.S. 501 (1946)
• Thiel v. Southern Pacific Co. · 328 U.S. 217 (1946)
• Moose Lodge No. 107 v. Irvis · 407 U.S. 163 (1972)
• Smith v. Allwright · 321 U.S. 649 (1944)
• Rose v. Mitchell · 443 U.S. 545 (1979)
• Carter v. Jury Comm'n of Greene Cty. · 396 U.S. 320 (1970)
• Allen v. McCurry · 449 U.S. 90 (1980)
• Monroe v. Pape · 365 U.S. 167 (1961)
• Bolling v. Sharpe · 347 U.S. 497 (1954)
• Branti v. Finkel · 445 U.S. 507 (1980)
• Sniadach v. Family Finance Corp. of Bay View · 395 U.S. 337 (1969)
• Pacific Mutual Life Insurance v. Haslip · 499 U.S. 1 (1991)
• Strauder v. West Virginia · 100 U.S. 303 (1880)
• Ross v. Oklahoma · 487 U.S. 81 (1988)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Georgia v. McCollum · 505 U.S. 42 (1992)
• JEB v. Alabama Ex Rel. TB · 511 U.S. 127 (1994)
• Morse v. Republican Party of Virginia · 517 U.S. 186 (1996)
• Flowers v. Mississippi · 588 U.S. 284 (2019)
• Miller-El v. Dretke · 545 U.S. 231 (2005)
• Lebron v. National Railroad Passenger Corporation · 513 U.S. 374 (1995)
• Bush v. Vera · 517 U.S. 952 (1996)
• Pena-Rodriguez v. Colorado · 580 U.S. 206 (2017)
• Whole Woman's Health v. Jackson · 595 U.S. 30 (2021)
• Shaw v. Reno · 509 U.S. 630 (1993)
• Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College · 600 U.S. 181 (2023)
• Brentwood Academy v. Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Assn. · 531 U.S. 288 (2001)
• United States v. Martinez-Salazar · 528 U.S. 304 (2000)
• Miller v. Johnson · 515 U.S. 900 (1995)
• Lindke v. Freed · 601 U.S. 187 (2024)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1991). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).