Mother Jones: Jury duty is the next big step for felons’ rights
An estimated 19.8 million people in the United States have a felony conviction and are therefore excluded from serving on juries in federal courts, as well as courts in 27 states. Several other states technically allow felons to serve on juries, but the right is contingent upon factors like parole, time of release, and approval from the prison system. Only one state, Maine, has no law regarding the matter.
An estimated 19.8 million people in the United States have a felony conviction and are therefore excluded from serving on juries in federal courts, as well as courts in 27 states. Several other states technically allow felons to serve on juries, but the right is contingent upon factors like parole, time of release, and approval from the prison system. Only one state, Maine, has no law regarding the matter.
WWNO: The Juror Project aims to rebalance the scales of justice
As the state prepares to vote on several key laws in November, many voters are turning their attention to the split verdict issue in Louisiana. 48 states in the US require unanimous verdicts in felony trials, but Louisiana is not one of them. NolaVie's David Benedetto speaks with William Snowden, a federal trial attorney and founder of The Juror Project. The group aims to increase diversity on juries and challenge perspectives on jury duty.
As the state prepares to vote on several key laws in November, many voters are turning their attention to the split verdict issue in Louisiana. 48 states in the US require unanimous verdicts in felony trials, but Louisiana is not one of them. NolaVie's David Benedetto speaks with William Snowden, a federal trial attorney and founder of The Juror Project. The group aims to increase diversity on juries and challenge perspectives on jury duty.
NOLA.com Opinion: What if we saw jury duty as something to be embraced, not dreaded?
The New Orleans Police Department had the highest rate of credible accusations of police abuse in the whole country, then-U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite told an auditorium of black high school boys at a 2014 forum to discuss friction between the police and black communities. In a Department of Justice report that eventually led to the Police Department entering into a consent decree, investigators found that "NOPD's failure to ensure that its officers respect the Constitution and the rule of law undermines trust within the very communities whose cooperation the Department most needs to enforce the law and prevent crime."
The New Orleans Police Department had the highest rate of credible accusations of police abuse in the whole country, then-U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite told an auditorium of black high school boys at a 2014 forum to discuss friction between the police and black communities. In a Department of Justice report that eventually led to the Police Department entering into a consent decree, investigators found that "NOPD's failure to ensure that its officers respect the Constitution and the rule of law undermines trust within the very communities whose cooperation the Department most needs to enforce the law and prevent crime."
CBS News: Innocents have gone to jail, say NOLA public defenders
Past and current attorneys of the New Orleans Public Defenders Office tell Anderson Cooper they believe innocent clients have gone to jail because they lacked the time and resources to defend them properly. The system is so overburdened that in 2016 New Orleans Chief Public Defender Derwyn Bunton began ordering his staff to refuse to take on clients facing the most serious felonies.
Past and current attorneys of the New Orleans Public Defenders Office tell Anderson Cooper they believe innocent clients have gone to jail because they lacked the time and resources to defend them properly. The system is so overburdened that in 2016 New Orleans Chief Public Defender Derwyn Bunton began ordering his staff to refuse to take on clients facing the most serious felonies.
The New Quo: A Conversation on the Fallacy of Stereotypes and the Importance of Jury Duty
"I had a particular experience my second year being a public defender. It was a trial involving a case where a client was charged with maybe two crack rocks and three pills. He didn't have a prescription for the pills, and obviously crack cocaine is an illegal substance to have. He had gone to trial before and lost on this very same case, and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. The case came back on appeal, as a result of something that's called Batson violation which tries to ensure prosecutors aren’t illegitimately removing people of color from the jury.
"I had a particular experience my second year being a public defender. It was a trial involving a case where a client was charged with maybe two crack rocks and three pills. He didn't have a prescription for the pills, and obviously crack cocaine is an illegal substance to have. He had gone to trial before and lost on this very same case, and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. The case came back on appeal, as a result of something that's called Batson violation which tries to ensure prosecutors aren’t illegitimately removing people of color from the jury.
We went through the voir dire process, which is a conversation between the attorneys and the potential jurors that helps the lawyers learn about which people in the room would be a good fit to serve on the jury for their type of case. In that conversation, we got general background information from the jurors, and their perspectives on drug cases. When the jury walked in the room, one question that immediately came to my mind was, "Well, where are the black folks?" New Orleans is about 60% black, but we didn't have that representation for people that were walking into the courtroom to potentially serve on the jury for this case. It was frustrating to me. The only representation of people of color in the courtroom are unfortunately the majority of the people who are being charged with crimes, and we aren't getting a fair representation on the jury panels."