McCleskey, a black man convicted of killing a white police officer, used a social science study (Baldus et al.) to challenge the objectivity of capital punishment sentencing in Georgia, showing that the race of homicide victims made a marked difference in whether the death penalty was imposed in cases throughout the State. The Supreme Court assumed the statistical validity of the study, but the majority (5-4) reasoned that the findings do not conclusively show that racial considerations actually enter into sentencing decisions in Georgia. The majority thus failed to locate a theory that made Baldus' data of legal significance. This ruling, however, does not mean that social science research will be irrelevant to legal issues in the administration of the death penalty. It is possible that some State courts may be receptive to social science studies in ruling on death penalty challenges brought upon State constitutional grounds. Studies in individual cases may also show prejudice due to pretrial publicity and may be used in the selection of unbiased jurors. 153 footnotes.