DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - In a story March 22 about the Iowa Court of Appeals ordering a new trial because two black people were inappropriately removed from a prospective jury pool, The Associated Press reported erroneously that prosecutors from the Iowa Attorney General’s office removed the jurors. The Scott County attorney’s office removed the jurors.
A corrected version of the story is below:
Court orders new trial saying black jurors wrongly removed
The Iowa Court of Appeals says a Davenport man should get another trial because prosecutors removed the only two black people from the prospective jury pool violating a constitutional protection against removing jurors because of their race
By DAVID PITT
Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A Davenport man should get another trial because prosecutors removed the only two black people from the prospective jury pool violating a constitutional protection against removing jurors because of their race, the Iowa Court of Appeals said Wednesday.
Marquise Miller, 27, who is black, was charged with eluding police and theft for allegedly helping two accomplices flee after shoplifting at a Dillard’s department store in Davenport in 2015.
He went to trial in October 2015.
During the jury selection process in a criminal case attorneys from the prosecution and defense are allowed to strike jurors from the pool until the panel reaches the 12 required to try the case. Potential jurors are removed if they know parties in the case or if they reveal a prejudice that may keep them from impartially considering the facts. The courts have concluded, however, that the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution prohibits removal of potential jurors from serving “solely on account of their race.”
A prosecutor from the Scott County attorney’s office while interviewing potential jurors in Miller’s case removed the only two black jurors. One was a woman who said her granddaughter was struck and killed by an off-duty police officer who was driving 60 miles per hour in a school zone and was never ticketed. The woman said she had forgiven the officer but she was removed by the prosecutor from consideration.
A second black woman said she knew a police officer and said she believed generally officers were OK but “there’s always room for improvement.”
She also was struck from the jury pool by prosecutors and Miller’s attorney challenged the removal claiming it was due to her race. The trial judge disagreed and allowed the trial to proceed and Miller was convicted. He appealed citing the jury issue.
The appeals court noted that the prosecutor, citing the negative responses about law enforcement, removed the only two potential black jurors from the pool. The court said the prosecutor’s reason was undermined by the fact that “two other nonblack jurors responded with just as negative - if not more negative - responses to the question about law enforcement, and they were not struck.”
It sent the case back to Scott County for a new trial.
A spokesman for the Iowa Attorney General’s office said the attorneys are reviewing the ruling and will discuss options.
Miller’s attorney did not immediately respond to a message.
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