WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court took up another death penalty issue Wednesday, hearing an appeal from a black man who says the overwhelmingly white jury that put him on Texas' death row was selected on the basis of race.

The case may resolve how judges decide if a jury selection was unconstitutionally based on race. The subject has been confusing for lower courts.

Several justices seemed troubled by Texas prosecutors' tactics in Thomas Miller-El's case. His attorney, Seth Waxman, urged the court to throw out his death sentence and use his case as a model.