Lawsuit: Blacks Blatantly Kept Off Alabama Juries

[DearAbby]

Black people blatantly excluded from Alabama juries, lawsuit claims

Discriminatory practices outlawed in 1875 still rife across the US south, lawyers allege in new class action


Black people are being systematically and intentionally excluded from jury service in parts of Alabama almost 140 years after the practice was outlawed in the US, a lawsuit lodged with the federal courts alleges.

The class action has been launched on behalf of thousands of black people in Alabama who were allegedly prevented from sitting as jurors in serious criminal cases, many of which carried the death penalty, in a blatant move by prosecutors to achieve all-white or largely white juries. The complaint claims that the practice has been going on for decades.

It relates specifically to the actions of one prosecutor, Douglas Valeska, who is district attorney in the Alabama counties of Houston and Henry. The lawsuit alleges that he, together with his unnamed associate prosecutors, effectively relegated black people in their areas to "second class citizenship".

Valeska was not available for comment. He told the local Dothan Eagle newspaper that the lawsuit was a "a filing by ambush. It looks like they're trying to try their case in the media."

more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/21/race-discrimination-alabama-death-penalty

[gratuitous]

1. Has Herman Cain been notified?

Seems like Mr. Cain would be able to explain to the complainants just exactly how un-racist this pattern and practice is. And if nothing else, he could fall back on, "Nobody wants to do jury duty!" And then make some inspirational noises about how great America is, and it's so great it can't be racist, and how many of my books do you want to buy?