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No. 21-5050October Term 2021Decided Apr 18, 2022Updated Apr 18, 2022

Docket 21-5050October Term 2021 (2021–2022)

Love v. Texas

This case asks whether Texas violated a capital defendant’s constitutional rights by allowing a racially biased juror to serve on his death-penalty jury.

Case status

Decided · April 18, 2022

Read the opinion (PDF)
Current stage
Decided
Latest event
Decision released Apr 18, 2022
Case Accepted
Arguments
Decision ReleasedApr 18, 2022
What it's about

This case asks whether Texas violated a capital defendant’s constitutional rights by allowing a racially biased juror to serve on his death-penalty jury. It also concerns whether the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals wrongly treated that error as harmless because the trial court had given the defense extra peremptory strikes earlier in jury selection.

Question presented

1. Whether Texas' Court of Criminal Appeals, the only court of last resort reviewing direct appeals in death penalty cases has decided an important federal question concerning a racially biased juror being allowed on a capital death penalty jury in violation of Petitioner's rights under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. 2. Whether Texas' Court of Criminal Appeals, the only court of last resort reviewing direct appeals in death penalty cases has decided an important federal question concerning a racially biased juror in a way that conflicts with relevant decisions of this Court in violation of Petitioner's rights under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

Case path

Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas / Decision released Apr 18, 2022

Area

Decided Supreme Court case

Timing

Decided April 18, 2022

The Court released its decision on April 18, 2022 without hearing oral argument.

Activity

Docket activity2
  • Opinion added: Opinion

    Apr 18, 2022 | Court records

  • Brief added: Petition

    Jul 1, 2021 | Court records

Grounding

Grounding
Primary-source trail available.
Note
Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
Checked
Jul 25, 2026
Primary materials5