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Constitutional Law Keyed to Choper
Virginia v. Black
Citation:
538 U.S. 343 (2003)Facts
In August 1998, Barry Black led a Ku Klux Klan rally on private property in Carroll County, Virginia, with the owner’s permission. During the rally, Klan members made racist speeches, and the event culminated with the burning of a 25-30 foot cross. When the sheriff observed the cross burning, he arrested Black, who identified himself as the leader of the rally. In a separate incident in May 1998, Richard Elliott and Jonathan O’Mara attempted to burn a cross in the yard of James Jubilee, an African-American neighbor who had complained about Elliott shooting firearms in his backyard. All three defendants were charged and convicted under Virginia’s cross-burning statute. Black was convicted after a jury trial where they were instructed that the burning of a cross alone was sufficient evidence to infer the required intent to intimidate. Elliott was convicted of attempted cross burning after a trial where the jury was not instructed on the prima facie evidence provision. O’Mara pleaded guilty but reserved the right to challenge the statute’s constitutionality.
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