Published on: Monday, June 28, 2021

A federal judge on Monday found potential racial bias in the grand jury selection process in parts of the Southern District of New York, holding that the government failed to disprove a discriminatory purpose in deciding to pursue an indictment in the suburbs as opposed to Manhattan (article available here).

In a case involving a person indicted by a grand jury in White Plains for being a felon in possession of ammunition in connection with a shooting in the Bronx, the U.S. District Court found the defendant had produced "clear statistical evidence" that the grand jury was selected from a pool that underrepresented Black and Latino jurors and that the jury selection process was susceptible to abuse.

"The government has failed to meet its burden by coming forward with evidence rebutting the presumption that such underrepresentation was the result of purposeful discrimination," the court wrote. "Therefore, defendant has established a violation of his Fifth Amendment right to a race-neutral jury selection process." Therefore, the court dismissed the indictment without prejudice.

The government claimed there was no discriminatory intent at play in seeking an indictment in White Plains, but rather blamed the COVID-19 pandemic, saying there was limited grand jury availability in Manhattan at the time.

Prosecutors promptly responded to the ruling by taking the case to a grand jury in Manhattan, which indicted him.

The case is U.S. v. William Scott, case number 1:20-cr-00332-AT (S.D.N.Y June 28, 2021).