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What are the key legal arguments and precedents established in the landmark case of Lockhart v.
McCree related to the constitutionality of pretrial restraints in civil commitment for mental illness?
The case was argued on January 13, 1986, and decided on May 5, 1986, making it a significant Supreme Court decision in the history of US law.
Lockhart v.
McCree was a landmark case that addressed the practice of removing prospective jurors who expressed opposition to the death penalty during voir dire.
The Court in Lockhart v.
McCree acknowledged concerns that removing jurors solely for their opposition to the death penalty might disproportionately impact certain communities.
The Court held that as long as jurors can be objectively evaluated to determine their impartiality in other respects, the practice of excluding death-opposing jurors does not violate the Constitution.
The case involved Ardia V.
McCree, who stood trial in 1978 for the shooting death of a gift shop and service station owner in Camden, Ouachita County, Arkansas.
McCree filed a petition for habeas corpus, claiming that the trial court's removal of prospective jurors who opposed the death penalty violated his constitutional rights.
The Supreme Court in Lockhart v.
McCree significantly circumscribed the state courts' role in excusing jurors for cause in capital cases.
The Court held that the State's power to exclude for cause jurors from capital juries does not extend beyond its interest in removing those jurors who would "frustrate" the State's interest in executing the defendant.
Lockhart v.
McCree has been cited in numerous subsequent Supreme Court cases, including Turner v.
Murray (1986) and Ross v.
Oklahoma (1988).
The decision in Lockhart v.
McCree has had a lasting impact on the conduct of capital trials in the United States, influencing the selection of jurors and the administration of the death penalty.
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