home

Racial Discrimination in Dallas Jury Selection

By TChris, Section Constitution
Posted on Sun Aug 21, 2005 at 03:49:57 PM EST
Tags: (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

by TChris

In this year's Miller-El decision, the Supreme Court found that Dallas County had impermissibly excluded blacks from Miller-El's jury. The district attorney for Dallas County assured everyone that if such racial exclusion had ever been a part of the prosecution's jury selection strategy, those practices were no longer tolerated.

And now for the truth, as uncovered by the Dallas Morning News:

Prosecutors excluded eligible blacks from juries at more than twice the rate they rejected eligible whites, The Dallas Morning News found. In fact, being black was the most important personal trait affecting which jurors prosecutors rejected, according to the newspaper's statistical analysis.

The district attorney, of course, says that prosecutors remove blacks from juries for reasons other than their race. Again, the Morning News reveals the truth:

Jurors' attitudes toward criminal justice issues also played an important role, but even when blacks and whites answered key questions the same way, blacks were rejected at higher rates.

State District Judge Henry Wade Jr. says racial exclusion is part of the culture of the DA's office. It's time for that culture to change. And maybe, since the DA is defending his office rather than remedying the problem, it's time to change the DA.

< The Character Question | Hunter Thompson's Final Blast-Off >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    Racial Discrimination in Dallas Jury Selection | 5 comments (5 topical)
    Re: Racial Discrimination in Dallas Jury Selection (