Court to Decide if Lawyers Can Block Gays From Juries

[onehandle]

Source: New York Times

WASHINGTON — Last month’s Supreme Court rulings on same-sex marriage were major gay rights victories. But countless questions about the legal rights of gay men and lesbians remain.

Here’s one: May gays be excluded from juries on account of their sexual orientation? The federal appeals court in California will soon decide the issue, which turns out to be surprisingly knotty.

It arose at the 2011 trial of an antitrust fight between two giant drug companies. After a potential juror appeared to reveal that he was gay, a lawyer for Abbott Laboratories used a peremptory strike — one that does not require a reason — to eliminate him from the jury pool.

An opposing lawyer objected, saying the juror “is or appears to be, could be, homosexual.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/30/us/court-weighs-exclusion-of-jurors-because-theyre-gay.html

[awoke_in_2003]

1. Reccing for exposure...

this is ludicrous, but am glad this is being heard in California court and not here.

[MADem]

2. You've gotta be shitting me...!

It sounds like this could end up at the Supremes...

[msanthrope]

8. Nope--sexual orientation does not have the same level of protection as gender/race/origin.

so it's actually a great issue.

In a just world, the end result would be that sexual orientation would get strict scrutiny protection, and would be a characteristic on par with race/gender/origin.

[immoderate]

3. Infers that people could be blocked for being straight.

Just sayin'.

--imm

[bunnies]

5. my first thought too.

Perhaps there are instances when an all LGBT jury might be better?

[Iliyah]

4. WTF?

The last I've seen - homo sapiens are we, has something changed I didn't about???????

[Solly Mack]

6. K&R

[Trillo]

7. How much of this juror questioning goes into NSA databases? NT

[azurnoir]

9. that's ludicrous absolutely ludicrous

wtf difference does it make if a juror is straight or gay?

[KamaAina]

10. Depends on the case

a friend of two former DUers was railroaded on a sexual assault charge by a "gay panic" prosecution. He claims to have had consensual sex with a man at a party. Some of the other man's friends saw him, and he claimed to have been raped rather than admit he's bi. Charming. The first man is now rotting away in prison. And I doubt there were any LGBT people on his jury.

[azurnoir]

11. I think you miss the point perhaps

why should someone be kept off a jury because of their sexual orientation? Would we say the same where race or gender are concerned, I don't think so

[KamaAina]

12. I'm trying to think like a trial attorney

I imagine Zimmerman's defense team made darn sure no African Americans got on that jury. That doesn't make it right. But that's how lawyers work.

[cstanleytech]

15. Problem is though he was removed using a peremptory strike. nt

[Delphinus]

14. OMG

Seriously? Just when you think you have read it all ...