The Equal Justice Initiative files civil rights lawsuit against district attorney Douglas Valeska accusing him of deliberating blocking black Americans from serving on juries in Houston & Henry counties.
The Equal Justice Initiative has filed a civil rights lawsuit alleging district attorney Douglas Valeska illegally excluded qualified blacks from serving on juries in Houston and Henry counties. Nothing surprises me concerning the state of Alabama, which enacted a far-reaching anti-immigration bill that is in litigation.
The lawsuit alleges that for decades District Attorney Douglas Valeska blocked African Americans from serving as jurors on serious felony cases, including capital cases.
The plaintiffs are five African Americans who state courts previously found were illegally excluded from jury service because they are black. The lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, including ongoing federal court monitoring of jury selection in Houston and Henry Counties.
Specifically, the complaint alleges that, from 2006 to 2010, state prosecutors in Dothan used peremptory strikes to exclude 82% of qualified black jurors in death-penalty cases. As a result, the jury in every death-penalty case in Houston County over this period has been all white or had only a single black juror despite the fact that the circuit is nearly 25% African American.
According to the Equal Justice Initiative, Houston County has the highest per capita death sentencing rate in Alabama. Source
We will reserve judgment until this case is litigated or thrown out because it lacks merit. Either way, we'll be watching.
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