Report of disparities between Baltimore, suburban trials

Jury study raises hackles in city

Prosecutor objects to report of disparities between Baltimore, suburban trials

By Julie Bykowicz | Sun Reporter
August 18, 2008

An Abell Foundation report that found disparity between the verdicts of Baltimore jurors and their suburban counterparts has infuriated the city's top prosecutor.

After reading a March draft of the report, which recommends the creation of a regional jury pool, Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy called the study "potentially divisive" and asked in a letter to Abell President Robert C. Embry Jr. that it "be shelved" or its recommendations reworked.

"Disparities in Jury Outcomes - Baltimore City vs. Three Surrounding Jurisdictions - An Empirical Examination" was supposed to come out in April.

...In the March draft of the Abell report, which was obtained by The Sun, Shawn Flower of Choice Research Associates said she examined 293 cases from July 1, 2005, to June 30, 2006. That included all jury trials in Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard counties, and a random sample of jury trial cases from the city.....

...[Flower] wrote that the disparity in jury outcomes might be explained by "population characteristics and socioeconomic factors" and said the state should explore the concept of a regional jury pool to "neutralize city residents' negative perceptions of the criminal justice system."

"Generally speaking, citizens in the three comparison jurisdictions tend to be more advantaged in all respects than those in Baltimore City - they are better educated, are wealthier and are more likely to own their own homes," she wrote. Prospective jurors in the counties "are also less likely to suffer from the structural disadvantage and social disorganization which often results in the higher incidence of crime and victimization from crime."

...Jessamy condemned Flower's theories about Baltimore jurors and her suggestion of a regional jury pool - a concept she called "extreme and I believe unconstitutional."

"I am simply appalled that in the name of science and research, you reach a conclusion that because a large number of city residents [live in poverty and among crime], they are incapable of performing their civic duty," she wrote.