Washington state Supreme Court requires hearings when litigants claim racial bias in verdict

The Washington state Supreme Court unanimously ruled that courts must hold hearings if a litigant argues that a verdict was due to racial bias or prejudice.

"Racism is endemic, and its harms are not confined to any place, matter, or issue," Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis wrote in the 33-page majority opinion earlier this month.

The decision puts responsibility on the court to prove that bias was not a factor in the ruling.

If the court "cannot prove that racial bias was not a factor, that verdict is fundamentally incompatible with substantial justice," and a new trial must be held, the opinion stated. 

The case started after Janelle Henderson, a black woman, was rear-ended by Alicia Thompson, a white woman, and said she started to experience exacerbated Tourette's syndrome symptoms, The Seattle Times reported. Henderson sought $3.5 million in 2017, but the defense portrayed her as "confrontational" and "combative," and the jury awarded her $9,200.

"These terms evoke the harmful stereotype of an 'angry Black woman,'" Justice Montoya-Lewis wrote.

The court ruled in June that criminal litigants have a right to a hearing if they claim racial bias was a factor in their verdict.

"Today we emphasize that while the legal framework differs in the civil context, the same principle applies," the court wrote.