Current Events > New York judge rules only COVID-19 vaccinated jurors can serve

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https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-brooklyn-judge-edny-jury-unvaccinated-covid-19-jurors-trial-20210907-ke2acosukvfwbcgvvg4bnsskmu-story.html

A Brooklyn federal judge has ordered that only COVID-19 vaccinated New Yorkers may serve on an upcoming criminal trial jury, issuing a terse ruling that defense lawyers fear will impact the panels racial makeup. The Constitution accords defendants many a right: the right to infect 16 innocent jurors with COVID-19, however, is not among them, wrote Judge William Kuntz in a Sept. 3 ruling against a defense team that requested potential jurors be allowed to serve with or without a shot. The defense argued that including only inoculated jurors at an upcoming trial would make the pool whiter, given disparities in vaccination rates among racial groups. Minority groups continue to be disproportionally affected by COVID-19, wrote lawyer Michael Hueston in a Sept. 2 letter to the judge.

Excluding non-inoculated jurors will lead to a further underrepresentation of minorities in our impaneled jury and deprive the defendants of their right to a jury drawn from a fair cross-section of the community. In New York, 54% of the adult white population was vaccinated as of Aug. 16 compared with 41% of Blacks, Hueston noted. In addition, 53% of the Hispanic population was vaccinated while more than 80% of the citys Asian population has been inoculated. Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorneys Office in Brooklyn, though agreeing with Kuntz, argued that banning un-vaxxed New Yorkers from the jury pool actually protects them. The Courts decision to excuse all non-vaccinated jurors is appropriate because forcing them to sit would increase their risk of contracting COVID-19 and thereby constitute an undue hardship on them, wrote Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Edelman.



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lmao, what idiot thought this was a good idea

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So basically the chances of Trump supporters on jury go down

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A certain percentage of potential jurors will use this to get out of jury duty.

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This just seems like a get out of juror duty free card as far as I can tell.

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Gotta do what ya gotta do

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This is a major win for people who don't want to serve. :D

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Irony posted...

So basically the chances of Trump supporters on jury go down

I dont think NYC is an area to assume is filled with Trump supporters. Seems more likely black people will be the most effected like the defense lawyers said.

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How are this many people still not vaxed?

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Does he not realize most people dont want to serve?

What an idiot.
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I'm sure there are at least 16 vaccinated people of minorities in New York.

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On the one hand, minorities with lower vax rates will be underrepresented, but on the other hand right wing nuts will be excluded, so it probably balances out.

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Flauros posted...

How are this many people still not vaxed?

America, baby!

I mean, it should be as simple as walking into any neighborhood drugstore and asking for a dose then and there. But nope, for a variety of reasons it isn't that easy. At the very least there should be weekend popup clinics in drugstores.

There are places with too many doses and not enough people, but instead of going where the people go and distributing the doses there they're allowed to expire. That's before you get into rural areas and other places with a strong 'conservative' presence where people just flat out refuse.

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DuneMan posted...

America, baby!

I mean, it should be as simple as walking into any neighborhood drugstore and asking for a dose then and there. But nope, for a variety of reasons it isn't that easy. At the very least there should be weekend popup clinics in drugstores.

There are places with too many doses and not enough people, but instead of going where the people go and distributing the doses there they're allowed to expire. That's before you get into rural areas and other places with a strong 'conservative' presence where people just flat out refuse.

This has nothing to do with availability nor even right wingers/Trump supporters.

The vaccine has been available every fucking where since May in NYC. It's not because they can't get it. They don't want to, especially Black people.

People are so brainwashed, they think antivaxx people are just a bunch of white right wing people when hesitancy is the worst with people who couldn't give a shit about Trump or the right.

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Maybe they should you know..get vaccinated.

it is not that hard.

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Wtf NY jurors are only 4% vaccinated now!

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This is a nice incentive to not get vaxxed. I wonder if other states will follow.

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