We thought our readers might be interested in this in-depth report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel regarding the issue of obtaining diverse juries in Milwaukee County, with quotes from SPD’s Meera Al-Hanaey as well as Judges Danielle Shelton and Jonathan Richards.
Link is here. *Note that a subscription may be required to view this content*
Notably, the article is prompted by recent litigation by two SPD lawyers, Al-Hanaey and Arial Rosenberg, whose written motion criticized the use of driver’s licenses in order to construct jury pools in Milwaukee County. It turns out this position is backed up by statistics and some great quotes from many notable figures who have analyzed the issue of unrepresentative juries. According to their motion:
They argued using a drivers’ license list as the sole source for a jury pool leads to the “systematic exclusion and significant underrepresentation of Black residents.”
“Milwaukee County uses a source for eligible jurors that is well-known as underrepresenting our county’s black residents,” they wrote. “This is especially egregious when there are, by statute, other sources it may use to supplement its main source.”
Moreover, it would seem that at least some Milwaukee County judges are aware of the problem. Judge Shelton describes a possible incident of racially-motivated jury selection, while Judge Richards is said to be “tracking” the diversity of jury pools.
All in all a must-read for litigators looking to add such challenges to their practice or for those who simply interested in learning more about this vexing issue that frustrates attempts to make our justice fairer and more equal.
For folks without a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel subscription, you can look at the briefs in State v. Michael Exhavier Dunn, 2018AP783-CR, which (unsuccessfully) raised this argument, statistics, colored graphs, & all. https://www.wisconsinappeals.net/on-point-by-the-wisconsin-state-public-defender/court-of-appeals-rejects-jury-pool-and-batson-challenges/?hilite=michael+dunn