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Abstract:
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In the 2015-16 term the U.S. Supreme Court considered several cases having a statistical component. First, Foster v. Chatman concerned the fairness of a party's peremptory challenges when a disproportionate fraction of minority members on the venire are removed. Although neither side submitted a formal statistical analysis of the data, Fisher's exact test classifies the prosecutor's strikes of African-American as statistically significant (p< .01). Second, data from similar recent cases will be discussed. The role of sample-based evidence in cases involving class certification arose in Tyson Foods v.Bouaphakeo, which concerned estimating the time it took workers to put on protective clothing. Third, it will be interesting to contrast the Supreme Court's decision with a recent lower court decision recommending that sampling be used to decide whether the required fraction of a potential class met a residence requirement. Last, if time permits, some of the statistical data and issues that arose Fisher v. University of Texas concerning affirmative action will be introduced.
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