Arizona Republicans push bill to keep Black people off juries: columnist

Republicans in Arizona are being accused by a local columnist of trying to keep Black people off juries.

"If the Republicans behind House Bill 2413 had to give some justification for it (which they don’t), a clever GOP member might suggest it could be considered a way to keep Black citizens from the burdensome trauma of having to deal with the justice system. What HB 2413 actually would do, however, is to restore a system that keeps Black people off juries. At least that was the conclusion of the judges who suggested eliminating what are called 'peremptory challenges' from Arizona’s jury selection system," E.J. Montini wrote for The Arizona Republic.

Arizona judges said ending the system Republicans seek to restore was “a clear opportunity to end definitively one of the most obvious sources of racial injustice in the courts.”

Montini saw the proposed legislation as part of a pattern by Arizona Republicans.

"We could ask the Republicans who control the Arizona Legislature why they want to keep Black people off juries, but I doubt we’d get a satisfactory answer," he wrote. "It would be like asking them why they hate teachers, as they seem to. Or why they want to expand school vouchers in such a way that robs public schools and allows wealthy families to collect tax dollars for their kids’ private education. Or why they seem determined to keep segments of our community out of the voting booth by enacting all manner of obstacles to the election process that will impact minority voters."

Read the full column.

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