From an editorial published in the (Raleigh) News & Observer on Friday:
An African-American defendant in a typical N.C. courtroom couldn't be blamed for questioning why, once the jury had been selected for a trial, that jury was all white. Oh, that doesn't necessarily mean there was prejudice in the mind and heart of the prosecutor, or that a black juror would automatically side with a black defendant. But it would be unsettling nonetheless.
The issue of jury diversity is a front-burner in North Carolina, and has been for a long time. Historically, going back to the post-reconstruction period and unfortunately coming through the 1960s and '70s and perhaps further, it has not been uncommon for black defendants to have their fate decided by all-white juries.
Only a few decades ago, that might have been by design. Now the system itself, in terms of prosecutors and defense lawyers and judges, is more diverse than it was, and there is a much broader acceptance of racial equality as a worthy social standard.
But some defense attorneys say the selection process may not be the culprit in terms of a lack of diversity on juries.
"My problem is with the jury pool," said Wake County's chief public defender, Bryan Collins, in a News & Observer report. He notes that the jury pool is taken from voter registration rolls and driver's license lists. That, Collins wonders, might mean that lower-income folks, many of them black, who might not be on either list don't have the chance to be called for service.
Prosecutors vehemently defend the system, and Wake District Attorney Colon Willoughby further says that an all-white jury doesn't necessarily mean the jury's decision will reflect prejudice against a black defendant. Certainly that is true.
But consider findings from a Michigan State University law school study of capital cases, the most serious, in North Carolina. Black members of the jury pools who would have been eligible (meaning they weren't opposed to the death penalty) to serve reportedly were eliminated by prosecutors at twice the rate of other potential jurors. In Wake County, the figure was 2.5 times.
The findings raise questions about the jury selection process. For example, is there, as Collins considered, a chance that minorities are eliminated from jury pools because they're not licensed drivers or voters or perhaps because they have to be exempted because they can't afford time away from their jobs?
We have made much progress in creating more opportunities for minorities to participate in educational and governmental and recreational parts of our once segregated society. Why has this not happened to the same degree when it comes to jury pools? All those involved in the system should want the answer.
