Louisiana’s Non-Unanimous Jury History, in Five Dates

By Mrs. Eileen Hunter — about the author.

1898: Louisiana’s constitutional convention — whose stated mission, quoted later by the U.S. Supreme Court, was to “establish the supremacy of the white race” — adopts the 10-of-12 jury rule to dilute Black jurors’ votes. 2018: voters end split verdicts, but only for crimes after January 1, 2019. 2020: Ramos v. Louisiana holds the Sixth Amendment requires unanimity. 2021: Edwards v. Vannoy holds Ramos is not retroactive on federal collateral review. Since: roughly 1,500 people remain imprisoned on split verdicts; state retroactivity and legislative fixes — including a 2025 bill — have failed. (The full context page.)

Where Tony Hunter’s case stands on this: nowhere, on the current record. He was convicted in 2004, when 10–2 verdicts were lawful — but the formal record does not disclose his jury’s split, and his filings make no Ramos claim. We publish this as Louisiana context: the clearest modern example of a conviction structure defended as settled law right up until the day it fell.