Arnold v. North Carolina, 376 U.S. 773 (1964)

CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF NORTH CAROLINA

Syllabus

Petitioners, Negroes who had been indicted by an all-white grand jury in North Carolina, moved to quash the indictment on the ground that Negroes had been systematically excluded from grand juries in the county in which they were indicted. Although it was shown by uncontradicted evidence that Negroes comprise over 28% of persons on the tax records of the county, and over 30% of the persons on the poll tax list from which jurors are drawn, and that only one Negro served on a grand jury in 24 years, the motion was overruled, and petitioners were convicted of murder.

Held: The testimony made out a prima facie case of denial of the equal protection of the laws by systematic exclusion of Negroes from grand jury duty. Eubanks v. Louisiana, 356 U.S. 584, followed.

258 N.C. 563, 129 S.E.2d 229, reversed.