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jury selection
Jul. 27th, 2002 09:50 pmThe Tribune-Review (a local newspaper) has been going on at length about alleged bias in the county's jury-selection process. Why? Because X% of the county is black, but only Y% of jury candidates are (where Y < X). Obviously (ahem), this is because of bias on the part of those who decide whom to call for jury duty.
Their investigation didn't turn up any patterns of systematically ignoring certain neighborhoods. They did note that if a jury summons bounces they don't do anything about it, because they don't have the manpower. The paper asserts that blacks in Allegheny County are more likely to rent than whites are, so they move more often, so these mailings bounce more.
The jury pool is drawn from the rolls of registered voters and licensed drivers. I'm not sure if being both of those doubles your chances compared to someone who is only one of those. The oh-so-detailed invesigative reporting didn't include that issue.
However, voter registration is free, so anyone who wants to be considered for jury duty can trivially enter the pool. And for both voter registration and DMV records, you are required to update your info within something like 30 days of moving. I once got a jury summons about 6 months after I had moved, at the new address, so I know the records get updated.
But all of that aside, the Trib seems to have latched onto the notion of a "jury of one's peers" as a basis for arguing that whites can't judge blacks and vice-versa. ( Here's my letter. )
Their investigation didn't turn up any patterns of systematically ignoring certain neighborhoods. They did note that if a jury summons bounces they don't do anything about it, because they don't have the manpower. The paper asserts that blacks in Allegheny County are more likely to rent than whites are, so they move more often, so these mailings bounce more.
The jury pool is drawn from the rolls of registered voters and licensed drivers. I'm not sure if being both of those doubles your chances compared to someone who is only one of those. The oh-so-detailed invesigative reporting didn't include that issue.
However, voter registration is free, so anyone who wants to be considered for jury duty can trivially enter the pool. And for both voter registration and DMV records, you are required to update your info within something like 30 days of moving. I once got a jury summons about 6 months after I had moved, at the new address, so I know the records get updated.
But all of that aside, the Trib seems to have latched onto the notion of a "jury of one's peers" as a basis for arguing that whites can't judge blacks and vice-versa. ( Here's my letter. )