The Role of Bias in Jury Selection

The Baltimore Sun had a very interesting piece in yesterday's paper about the role that stereotypes play in jury selection:

Before a high-profile federal trial began in Baltimore last month, lawyers for the three black defendants filed a motion claiming that the prosecution deliberately - and illegally - dismissed black jury candidates to pack the panel with whites.

"They want a jury that may be sympathetic to the death sentence," defense attorney Archangelo Tuminelli said.

But the judge ultimately ruled that the allegation was wrong. And, it turns out, the stereotype might be, too.

I highly recommend reading the rest of the article here.