Pending Case May Help Michael Jackson
By TChris
An AP story suggests that Michael Jackson may benefit from a case pending in a California appellate court. The trial judge in that case found that a county's failure to follow up when individuals receive but disobey a summons to report for jury service resulted in a jury that failed to reflect the racial diveristy of the county.
The lack of follow-up results in "a volunteer jury," said Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Steve Cron, who is familiar with the procedure. He said many Hispanics in the agricultural areas around Santa Maria are farm laborers who might not return the jury summons because they can't afford to take time off work for jury service.
The problem of courts failing to assure that jury pools reflect the demographics of the community is a familiar one to those involved in the criminal justice system. People who have fewer resources (such as day care or a permanent address) are less able to respond to a summons, skewing the jury to populations that do not reflect the community as a whole.
Whether the decision would benefit Jackson, even if ultimately favorable to the defense, is unclear.
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