Judge Denies Pro-Trump Jurors Request By 3 Men Accused In Mosque Bomb Plot
Source: TPM
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Three men accused of plotting to bomb an apartment complex housing Somali refugees in Kansas have no legal basis to request that prospective jurors come from rural counties where more residents voted for President Donald Trump, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
The men are accused of targeting apartments and a mosque in Garden City, a meatpacking area in rural western Kansas. But they are being tried about 220 miles (354 kilometers) away at the closest federal courthouse in Wichita, where trials pull prospective jurors from surrounding, more urban counties.
The men argue the practice is discriminatory because it excludes western Kansas counties where more rural, conservative residents live.
U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren ruled that the demographic differences between the regions aren’t legally recognizable and wouldn’t violate the men’s right to a jury trial before a cross-section of the community. Melgren also said the defendants lacked standing to act on behalf of citizens in those counties to challenge the court’s practice.
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jurors selected from the local prison population because they would be more likely to see our side of the story.
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