In a Hamilton courtroom recently, a mistrial was declared because too many potential jurors declared themselves to be biased against the black defendants. There were no blacks in the jury pool and only two individuals of a visible minority. The question posed to them all, at the insistence of a defense lawyer, was this: Would your ability to judge the evidence in this case without bias or prejudice be affected by the fact the accused persons are black men or non-white men? Out of a jury pool of 72, 25 were let go in one day because they answered yes. That left too few to proceed with jury selection. It was very disheartening, says Selwyn Pieters, who represents one of the accused, Richard Steele – a black man, before the courts not for the first time, who also happens to be the son of prominent black activist Valarie Steele. I believe these people were being honest in their answers and not just trying to get out of jury duty, Pieters says. And I wouldnt want them on a jury either, because of their views. But I was quite surprised because these are people from all walks of life who looked me straight in the eye and said, yes, they were biased against blacks. Pieters is also black. Ive never heard of a mistrial before called for this reason. Among those who admitted to their bigotry: A pathologist, a physiotherapist, a chartered accountant and two company executives. Mostly they were middle-aged and older, says Pieters. Those who were open-minded and said they wouldnt discriminate based on race were young people, students. My client doesnt feel that he can have a fair trial in Hamilton, given that one in three jurors felt they couldnt judge a black man fairly. The question – which has been permitted in Ontario courts since 1994 – was addressed by the Ontario Court of Appeal, which found that anti-black racism is a notorious fact that must be confronted. thestar/opinion/columnists/2009/06/27/racial_bias_runs_surprisingly_deep.html
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 15:00:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015