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Constitutional Law Keyed to Choper
Duncan v. Louisiana
Citation:
391 U.S. 145 (1968)Facts
On October 18, 1966, Gary Duncan, a 19-year-old Black man, was driving in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, when he noticed his two younger cousins, who were Black and had recently transferred to a formerly all-white high school, engaged in a conversation with four white boys. Concerned due to recent racial incidents at the school, Duncan stopped his car and approached the group. He encouraged his cousins to break off the encounter and enter his car. As Duncan was about to enter his car, the white witnesses claimed he slapped one of the white boys, Herman Landry, on the elbow, while Duncan and his cousins testified he had merely touched Landry. Duncan was charged with simple battery, which in Louisiana carried a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment and a $300 fine. Despite requesting a jury trial, he was tried by a judge alone as permitted by Louisiana law, convicted, and sentenced to 60 days in prison and a $150 fine.
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