A look at Racial Disparities in Jury Selection

My friend, fellow BU LAW classmate Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, was on MSNBC discussing racial disparities in jury selection. The problem is twofold: 1. There is a concern that discrimination in jury selection will deny people their Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial and, 2. If potential jurors are struck based on their race, they are being denied their constitutional right to serve on a jury. I don’t know what the answer is, but action probably needs to be taken when the NY Times article this week sounds a lot like the one published five years ago.

Here’s the MSNBC story from Newsnation with Tamron Hall (with video).

Manning’s Transgender Case : BU Law Represents

Chelsea Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning, has announced that she is transgender, and intends to begin the sex reassignment process to become a woman. USA Today did a thorough and thoughtful article on the issue, and quoted Neal Minahan, my friend from Boston University School of Law.

I’m proud of my classmates, in addition to Mr. Minahan’s work on this important and delicate issue, Jenn Rolnick Borchetta worked on the NYPD Stop and Frisk case, helping prove that NYC police have been systematically violating people’s rights for years. It’s great to see my colleagues on the right side of good things happening in the law, and great for the profile of BU Law! BU Law, as you may know, prides itself on being on of the first law schools to admit students regardless of race or gender.