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.

https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/washington-state-supreme-court-requires-hearings-when-litigants-claim-racial

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