The spurious opine “Jury of peers?” (Nov. 10, TribLive) seems to be an example of a lawyer citing figures to make a specious argument.
In 2021, the U.S. Census Bureau found that Westmoreland County had a population of 353,057, including:
• White 94% (331,874)
• Black 2.9% (10,239)
• Hispanic 1.5% (5,295)
• Asian 1.1% (3,884)
• Native American 0.2% (706)
• Biracial 1.8% (6,355; a non-add number — included in one of the above categories)
As of Nov. 6, there were 244,393 registered voters in Westmoreland County.
Assuming 68% (the normal distribution on a bell curve) of the 10,239 Black people residing in the county are of legal age and registered voters, that number results in 6,962 potential jurors.
My experience has been that attorneys on either side prefer not to select the young (18-30) or the aged (65-plus) as jurors. The 6,962 number is probably reduced 50%, or 3,481.
Past policy was if a voter is called for jury duty, he or she generally is exempt to be recalled for five years. Many are called, but few are chosen.
So where is the county jury pool for Black jurors to come from?
Maybe we should be more concerned with the content of a juror’s character rather than the color of a juror’s skin.
David A. Scandrol
Lower Burrell