Clerk says duplicate entries no problem(LOUISIANA CORRUPTION ALERT)

New Orleans Times-Picayune | 12/24/02 | Joe Darby

[Sparta]

The Jefferson Parish jury pool list contains more than 830,000 names, even though only 450,000 people live in the parish, an attorney representing a man charged with first-degree murder says.

Jefferson's flawed jury pool contains many duplicate names, making it less likely that African-American residents will be called as potential jurors, Clive Stafford-Smith says in papers filed recently with the Louisiana Supreme Court. He says that most of the duplicate names belong to white residents, who make up 70 percent of Jefferson's population.

Jefferson Parish Clerk of Court Jon Gegenheimer said Monday that Stafford-Smith's argument is groundless because the 830,000 names are not the jury pool but an accumulated database. The database grows each year with the addition of new names from voter registration lists and from parish residents who get driver's licenses or state identification cards, Gegenheimer said. The true jury pool consists of about 200,000 people, he said.

Stafford-Smith represents Lawrence Jacobs, who was convicted and sentenced to death in 1998 for the 1996 murder of a Marrero man and the man's mother. The state Supreme Court overturned the conviction, finding that Judge Kernan "Skip" Hand of the 24th Judicial District Court wrongly allowed a juror who said he felt the only appropriate penalty for murder is the death penalty to remain on the panel.

Jacobs is scheduled to be retried in Hand's court next year for the killings of Nelson Beaugh, 45, and Stella Beaugh, 70. They were shot to death in Nelson Beaugh's home during a robbery.

Stafford-Smith said that when Jacobs is retried, he should be able to benefit from a jury pool that fairly contains the names of all ethnic groups. He said the "big pool" of potential jurors contains the names of 140,539 black people, representing 16.8 percent of the total, even though 23 percent of parish residents are black.

"Ten years ago, the 1990 census reflected an African-American population of 17 percent. Now the proportion has risen to 23 percent," Stafford-Smith said in his writ to the Supreme Court. "Yet because the 'big pool' is weighted toward those who have lived in the parish for longer, the number of white people in the pool is greater because older residents are likely to have duplicates in the pool."

Duplicate names can occur when, for example, a woman renews her driver's license under her married name or when a person moves from one voting precinct to another.

Gegenheimer said duplications in the actual jury pool of 200,000 people are far fewer than in the large database. To be qualified as a juror, a person must be 21 years old, a resident of the parish for a year, be able to read and understand English and not be a convicted felon or under indictment.

But Stafford-Smith said that if the system "missed the duplicate in the large pool, the system will miss it again in the smaller pool."

Gegenheimer, who also is a lawyer, said that to show that potential black jurors are discriminated against, Stafford-Smith must show that there was a systematic effort to stop African-Americans from registering to vote or from obtaining driver's licenses. Potential jurors are summoned at random by race- and gender-neutral identification numbers, Gegenheimer said.

Stafford-Smith said the problem could be solved if the Jefferson Parish jury pool was created anew each year from current voters rolls and driver's license lists.

Gegenheimer said that option is under consideration.

[Freee-dame]

The Jefferson Parish jury pool list contains more than 830,000 names, even though only 450,000 people live in the parish,

How many are on the voter registration rolls?

[pabianice]

Let me guess: they all voted Democrat in the recent election?

[Ann Archy]

What a great way to clean up the voter registration in these corrupt areas. Make the argument that BLACKS are NOT represented in the JURY POOL!!!! Buy that lawyer a drink on me!!!

[COKE623]

"The state Supreme Court overturned the conviction, finding that Judge Kernan "Skip" Hand of the 24th Judicial District Court wrongly allowed a juror who said he felt the only appropriate penalty for murder is the death penalty to remain on the panel".


Why was this case overturned anyway? I thought lawyers picked the jury. Excusing a few and keeping some, maybe I watch too much tv.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

maybe I watch too much tv.

Louisiana is a state in the USA but, unlike the other 49, Louisiana follows the Napoleonic Code which sets the example of equality in the eyes of the law. It's also famous for it's pelicans (which is the state bird) and mosquitoes, so if you're going to Louisiana it's wise to pack some insect repellant.

The Napoleonic Code also states that what belongs to the husband belongs to the wife and vice versa. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams is set in New Orleans and the Napoleonic Code is central to the story.