WHITE MEN IN BOMB PLOT WON'T GET MORE TRUMP VOTERS ON JURY, AFTER JUDGE DENIES REQUEST

[mala]

White men in bomb plot won't get more Trump voters on jury, after a judge denied a request

Gavin Wright, Patrick Stein and Curtis Allen were denied their request to include voters from a Trump-voting region in Kansas in their jury pool. The three men will be tried in the city of Wichita for plotting to use truck bombs in an apartment complex with a Somali refugee population and a mosque on the day after the 2016 presidential election, in Garden City, Kansas.

The jury pool will draw from Wichita and Hutchinson, more urban areas than Garden City, but Wright, Stein and Allen wanted people who “live in rural areas and are more politically conservative,” according to High Plains Public Radio. They asked to draw from 28 counties in Dodge City, located in western Kansas. District Judge Eric Melgren said that their request did not have a legal basis, and they did not show that the current jury pool areas would discriminate against Republicans.

let's all chant. Lock em up!!!

 

[Nithavela]

Why would they ever request such a thing.

It's almost as if they think that trump voters are statistically more likely to be for killing negro refugees.

 

[SummerMadness]

They're hoping they can stack the jury so they can escape punishment like the men that murdered Emmett Till. What does it say that they want to get more conservative Republicans on the jury to get a "fair" trial? Since the Republican party is absolutely devoid of any racism, this doesn't make much sense for the defense...

 

[Far Side Of the Moon]

Why do they have to be white men? Theyre just men...

All people from all races/groups do terrible things...

Lets stop focusing on race and let justice be served.

 

[HannahT]

This doesn't make any sense. They got caught planting bombs, and they think a certain voter pool will save their necks? lol maybe in their dreams! That's not how the jury pool works. *eye rolls*

 

[mala]

This doesn't make any sense. They got caught planting bombs, and they think a certain voter pool will save their necks? lol maybe in their dreams! That's not how the jury pool works. *eye rolls*

People in their demographic aren't particularly known for their intelligence.

 

[SummerMadness]

That's what I got out of the article.

I don't think they believe all conservatives or Trump voters are racist. "All" is a rather ridiculous qualifier because there is never all of anything when it comes to a population.

Their defense team is hoping for some sampling grace in their favor. If you were to sample the population and wanted to find someone with anti-African and/or anti-Muslim bias, do you think you would find that in a big diverse city or a rural area? In most cases the rural area will hold more of that antipathy. Of course now, holding such views doesn't mean you don't understand the law; you can still be racist, yet recognize attempted murder is wrong and vote guilty. However, if you can find someone with a sympathetic tilt to your views, there is a chance to get a hung jury (look at the Michael Slager or Michael Dunn cases), or a juror to convince people to acquit, or a juror that will argue only for guilt on lesser charges.

This attitude is not foreign, look at some attitudes toward the grand jury in the Trump conspiracy case: Some Trump Supporters Think Mueller's Grand Jury Has Too Many Black People

We have also seen defense attorneys attempt to move trials because they think they can get a better jury pool (although the argument is usually about pretrial publicity):
Accused cop killer’s attorneys seek to move trial out of Twin Cities – Twin Cities
https://splinternews.com/officers-attorneys-try-to-move-freddie-gray-trial-out-o-1793853227

So while their strategy will likely fail, and even if they did get their Trump supporter juror, they'll still likely be found guilty. But when you're a defense attorney, you're looking for any advantage, perceived or not.