Thoughts on how race discrimination continues to be a serious problem in jury selection

[Anonymous]

The U.S. Supreme Court began wrestled Monday with a problem that has long plagued the criminal justice system: race discrimination in the selection of jurors. Aca­dem­ic stud­ies, and even some former pro­sec­utors, ar­gue that ra­cial dis­crim­in­a­tion in jury se­lec­tion is still com­mon in every state dec­ades after the Su­preme Court ruled that it’s un­con­sti­tu­tion­al.

A majority of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday appeared ready to say race was a primary reason prosecutors struck all the prospective African-American jurors in a Georgia case where an all-white jury sentenced a young black man to death. At least six of the high court’s nine justices reacted with skepticism — if not outright disbelief — to arguments that Floyd County prosecutors struck all four of the eligible black jurors for reasons other than race in the death-penalty case against Timothy Tyrone Foster.

Justice Stephen Breyer likened the chief prosecutor to his excuse-filled grandson. Justice Elena Kagan said the case seemed as clear a violation "as a court is ever going to see" of rules the Supreme Court laid out in 1986 to prevent racial discrimination in the selection of juries. And during oral arguments on Monday morning Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor questioned whether a Georgia prosecutor had used a bogus pretext to bounce an African American woman from a jury. The prosecutor had claimed he excused her because the woman's cousin had been arrested on a drug charge. "There's an assumption that she has a relationship with this cousin," Sotomayor told Georgia deputy attorney general Beth Burton, who argued Georgia's case before the court. "I have cousins who I know have been arrested, but I have no idea where they're in jail. I hardly—I don't know them...Does that show pretext?"

In my opinion this case and the facts being brought to light is indicative of the institutional racism that remains very prevalent in our society and more prominently throughout our criminal justice system. The criminal justice system is the part of society least affected by the Civil Rights Movement. 95% of the prosecutors in this country are white and black jurors are up to three times more likely to be dismissed by prosecutors in many states. The focus for the last year and a half as been on the role of police in the excessive use of force and racial discrimination, but the reality is that every African-American that comes into a court room is being discriminated against.
Post-racial society my ass.

[Anonymous]

I started to reply to this, but then I realized I really couldn't have said it any better. I agree with you 100%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I started to reply to this, but then I realized I really couldn't have said it any better. I agree with you 100%.

Agree. I also hope the court will do the right thing. If the court does not, then Baston is dead. Maybe we need to get rid of peremptory challenges once and for all.

[Anonymous]

Black people rarely show up for jury duty unless they are forced to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Black people rarely show up for jury duty unless they are forced to.

Even supposing that this racist generalization were true, I'm wondering how it would be relevant to black people WHO WERE DISMISSED BY PROSECUTORS, given that the prosecutor can't dismiss you from the jury unless you show up for jury duty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Black people rarely show up for jury duty unless they are forced to.

I was wondering how many comments it would take before the first comment appeared that said that this actually has nothing to do with racism or race-based discrimination, and it's all black people's own fault anyway. Answer: 3. Yay, DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The U.S. Supreme Court began wrestled Monday with a problem that has long plagued the criminal justice system: race discrimination in the selection of jurors. Aca­dem­ic stud­ies, and even some former pro­sec­utors, ar­gue that ra­cial dis­crim­in­a­tion in jury se­lec­tion is still com­mon in every state dec­ades after the Su­preme Court ruled that it’s un­con­sti­tu­tion­al.

A majority of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday appeared ready to say race was a primary reason prosecutors struck all the prospective African-American jurors in a Georgia case where an all-white jury sentenced a young black man to death. At least six of the high court’s nine justices reacted with skepticism — if not outright disbelief — to arguments that Floyd County prosecutors struck all four of the eligible black jurors for reasons other than race in the death-penalty case against Timothy Tyrone Foster.

Justice Stephen Breyer likened the chief prosecutor to his excuse-filled grandson. Justice Elena Kagan said the case seemed as clear a violation "as a court is ever going to see" of rules the Supreme Court laid out in 1986 to prevent racial discrimination in the selection of juries. And during oral arguments on Monday morning Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor questioned whether a Georgia prosecutor had used a bogus pretext to bounce an African American woman from a jury. The prosecutor had claimed he excused her because the woman's cousin had been arrested on a drug charge. "There's an assumption that she has a relationship with this cousin," Sotomayor told Georgia deputy attorney general Beth Burton, who argued Georgia's case before the court. "I have cousins who I know have been arrested, but I have no idea where they're in jail. I hardly—I don't know them...Does that show pretext?"

In my opinion this case and the facts being brought to light is indicative of the institutional racism that remains very prevalent in our society and more prominently throughout our criminal justice system. The criminal justice system is the part of society least affected by the Civil Rights Movement. 95% of the prosecutors in this country are white and black jurors are up to three times more likely to be dismissed by prosecutors in many states. The focus for the last year and a half as been on the role of police in the excessive use of force and racial discrimination, but the reality is that every African-American that comes into a court room is being discriminated against.
Post-racial society my ass.

Very interesting that there's not even one mention of Hispanics, Asians or others. Combined, they represent more than twice the size of AAs in our country. Why does OP (and the NYT article) ignore that reality? Are Hispanics, Asians and others properly represented in jury pools too?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Very interesting that there's not even one mention of Hispanics, Asians or others. Combined, they represent more than twice the size of AAs in our country. Why does OP (and the NYT article) ignore that reality? Are Hispanics, Asians and others properly represented in jury pools too?

The OP and the NYT presumably discussed racial discrimination specifically against black people on juries because the case before the Supreme Court was specifically about racial discrimination against black people on juries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Very interesting that there's not even one mention of Hispanics, Asians or others. Combined, they represent more than twice the size of AAs in our country. Why does OP (and the NYT article) ignore that reality? Are Hispanics, Asians and others properly represented in jury pools too?

The OP and the NYT presumably discussed racial discrimination specifically against black people on juries because the case before the Supreme Court was specifically about racial discrimination against black people on juries.

And the case in question is from nearly 30 years ago when the proportion of AA to Asian and Hispanics in the U.S. was very different.

[Anonymous]

I'm a white 29yo f and have been to jury selection 7 times. I've never once sat on a jury though. I've been tossed out of drug and DUI cases. I assume that because I'm young they think I drink and do drugs? It always seems ridiculously arbitrary why I'm always kicked off.

Frankly I'd like to sit on a jury so that they won't keep asking me to come back year after year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Very interesting that there's not even one mention of Hispanics, Asians or others. Combined, they represent more than twice the size of AAs in our country. Why does OP (and the NYT article) ignore that reality? Are Hispanics, Asians and others properly represented in jury pools too?

The OP and the NYT presumably discussed racial discrimination specifically against black people on juries because the case before the Supreme Court was specifically about racial discrimination against black people on juries.

+1. The Supreme Court deals with the case in front of it, which happens to be about black juror candidates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a white 29yo f and have been to jury selection 7 times. I've never once sat on a jury though. I've been tossed out of drug and DUI cases. I assume that because I'm young they think I drink and do drugs? It always seems ridiculously arbitrary why I'm always kicked off.

Frankly I'd like to sit on a jury so that they won't keep asking me to come back year after year.

Where do you live? Where I live, you only need to serve every three years, whether you are selected to sit or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The U.S. Supreme Court began wrestled Monday with a problem that has long plagued the criminal justice system: race discrimination in the selection of jurors. Aca­dem­ic stud­ies, and even some former pro­sec­utors, ar­gue that ra­cial dis­crim­in­a­tion in jury se­lec­tion is still com­mon in every state dec­ades after the Su­preme Court ruled that it’s un­con­sti­tu­tion­al.

A majority of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday appeared ready to say race was a primary reason prosecutors struck all the prospective African-American jurors in a Georgia case where an all-white jury sentenced a young black man to death. At least six of the high court’s nine justices reacted with skepticism — if not outright disbelief — to arguments that Floyd County prosecutors struck all four of the eligible black jurors for reasons other than race in the death-penalty case against Timothy Tyrone Foster.

Justice Stephen Breyer likened the chief prosecutor to his excuse-filled grandson. Justice Elena Kagan said the case seemed as clear a violation "as a court is ever going to see" of rules the Supreme Court laid out in 1986 to prevent racial discrimination in the selection of juries. And during oral arguments on Monday morning Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor questioned whether a Georgia prosecutor had used a bogus pretext to bounce an African American woman from a jury. The prosecutor had claimed he excused her because the woman's cousin had been arrested on a drug charge. "There's an assumption that she has a relationship with this cousin," Sotomayor told Georgia deputy attorney general Beth Burton, who argued Georgia's case before the court. "I have cousins who I know have been arrested, but I have no idea where they're in jail. I hardly—I don't know them...Does that show pretext?"

In my opinion this case and the facts being brought to light is indicative of the institutional racism that remains very prevalent in our society and more prominently throughout our criminal justice system. The criminal justice system is the part of society least affected by the Civil Rights Movement. 95% of the prosecutors in this country are white and black jurors are up to three times more likely to be dismissed by prosecutors in many states. The focus for the last year and a half as been on the role of police in the excessive use of force and racial discrimination, but the reality is that every African-American that comes into a court room is being discriminated against.
Post-racial society my ass.

Very interesting that there's not even one mention of Hispanics, Asians or others. Combined, they represent more than twice the size of AAs in our country. Why does OP (and the NYT article) ignore that reality? Are Hispanics, Asians and others properly represented in jury pools too?

New pp here: on this specific panel, the jury was all white.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Black people rarely show up for jury duty unless they are forced to.

I was wondering how many comments it would take before the first comment appeared that said that this actually has nothing to do with racism or race-based discrimination, and it's all black people's own fault anyway. Answer: 3. Yay, DCUM.

I didn't make up the fact. So wonder all you want.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/08/13/1411871/-Black-People-Can-t-Afford-to-Avoid-Jury-Duty#

Original article by Charles F. Coleman Jr. is a civil rights trial attorney, legal analyst and former Brooklyn, N.Y., prosecutor. He is also a professor of criminal justice at Berkeley College in New York.

http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2015/08/jury_duty_why_african_americans_can_t_afford_to_dodge_it.html?wpisrc=newsletter_jcr:content%26http://

[Anonymous]

I have never sat on an all white jury.

5 regular juries
3 grand juries
1 federal jury