Last week's dismissal of juror No. 76, a Black man who shared his beliefs that Black people are not treated equally by Minneapolis police, or the justice system, continues to spark debate about race and bias in the state's justice system.
Mary Moriarty, a former public defender in Hennepin County, says there's a problem with how and why jurors can be excused.
"The problem with that law is, although it says you can't excuse someone because of race, it allows the party that's excused that person to come up with what's referred to as race-neutral reason," Moriarty told WCCO Radio's Cory Hepola on Tuesday morning.
Moriarty said that in the case of juror No. 76, negative experiences with police officers and poor perception of the criminal system were examples of race-neutral reasons.
"I don't think you can untie a person's experiences with the system, or police from their race," Moriarty said. "I don't really know of any Black men or many Black women who have not had a negative experience with police or know someone who has."
The excusal of juror No. 76 by Chauvin's defense attorneys was understandable, according to Moriarty.
"On the other hand, it came across that this juror was extremely insightful and said that he could set aside his opinions and base his verdict on what he saw in the case."
Expanding resources for the state to draw potential jurors is a way Moriarty says there could be more inclusion when it comes to jury selection. Currently, the Minnesota uses driver's licenses, voter registration, and state identification to draw a jury pool.
"Other states use utility bills, income tax, and government assistance, so they draw from a wider pool than we do," said Moriarty.
Moriarty told Hepola that the state needs to stop pretending they can separate lived-experiences from the color of one's skin.
"Because of the color of your skin and because you are Black, you are going to have certain experiences in this community," Moriarty said. "I don't think those experiences should enable either party to eliminate you if you say, sincerely, that you can set that aside and base your decision on the evidence that you see in the case."
