A DA kept Black women off a jury. California’s Supreme Court says that wasn’t racial bias

One by one, a California prosecutor eliminated five out of six Black women from the jury pool for a death penalty case in which a white carpet cleaner slayed his client, a young mother.

The attorney in Alameda County had a reason for each dismissal. He believed one, for instance, appeared too reluctant to impose a death sentence. Another had a “liberal bent.” After the defense struck the last Black woman, the jury proceeded with no Black members even though Black people made up close to 15% of Alameda County’s population at the time.