AUSTIN - On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court reversed a judgment in a lawsuit because of a comment an attorney made during jury selection regarding an individual’s ethnicity.
According to the high court’s opinion, Clark Davis died in a terrible traffic accident. As Davis approached an overpass, a large piece of equipment carried on a flatbed trailer struck the overpass. The falling debris crushed his vehicle.
Davis’ estate, his mother, and his son brought wrongful death and survival claims against several defendants. The case proceeded to trial against one defendant, United Rentals.
According to the opinion, during jury selection counsel for the plaintiffs stated that “the African-American female is the most favorable juror for this case.” This announced preference was consistent with the plaintiffs’ peremptory strikes of four white men and one Hispanic man.
After a verdict for the plaintiffs, the district court rendered a substantial money judgment, which the court of appeals affirmed. The jury assigned 30 percent responsibility to United Rentals, the opinion states.
The Supreme Court held a new trial was required.
“In so doing, we do not impugn the integrity of the counsel involved in this case, who no doubt relied on conventional sources of insight into jury-selection strategy, such as the advice of jury consultants or feedback from focus groups,” the opinion states. “But consulting these sources for advice on the color of an ideal juror cannot help but undermine our judicial system’s obligation to provide race-neutral proceedings.
“This Court’s precedent insists that jury selection—which routinely involves venire panels as diverse as the population of Texas—must be conducted without regard to race, to the greatest extent possible.”
Justices reversed the judgment of the court of appeals on the survival claim brought by Davis’s estate, and rendered a take nothing judgment on the claim.