the most qualified is not taking a random sample of the community.On the other side of the debate, Alan M. Rubenstein, a county District Attorney, says No matter what their race, ethnicity or gender, jurors bring their biases to the courtroom..and peremptories are needed to sort out individuals who, in the lawyers judgment, will be overcome by their prejudices (The Legal Intelligencer, April, 1997). Not only do people experience different aspects of life that could interfere with their choices; many people are reluctant to answer probing questions during voir dire with honesty. They may feel as if they are put on the spot and respond differently than if they were under a more social setting. The defense deserves the right to a trial as fair and impartial as possible. Random selections do not allow attorneys to identify possible bias due to past experiences. Through voir dire racial discrimination by the juror can be detected and removed. A person may not want to admit their prejudices against a certain group of people because of embarrassment, but peremptory challenges allow lawyers to dismiss those who are ambivalent about certain questions. Abolishing peremptory challenges may not decrease racial motivation in the courtroom if only a few minorities are selected for the jury to begin with.The jury selection process in Delaware County was challenged before a Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Media practitioner Hugh J. Bracken argued that the jury pool misrepresented blacks and other minorities with respect to low incomes and young adults (The Legal Intelligencer, April, 1997). The court did not update their jury list, as required by law, which resulted in the failure to acquire current addresses of low income resident who tend to move more often than the affluent. Bracken claimed that only 6.25 percent of those reporting for jury duty were black, although they made up 10.2 percent of the countys population. The ruling was not in fa...
