Opinion ID: 2120964
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Fifth Disputed Challenge: Facts and 1982 Explanation

Text: Wadley. During the resumed proceedings, a fifth black venire member, Denise Wadley, was peremptorily challenged by the State. She had never been married, had lived for 17 years in the same neighborhood (16 of those years with her family), and had been working as a telephone operator for five years. Earlier, she had worked three years for an optical company and five years as a post office distribution clerk. She was a Baptist and did not attend church regularly. After Wadley was excused, defense counsel renewed their motion for a mistrial. Later, in argument on the motion after the jury had already been impaneled and sworn, a prosecutor observed that Wadley was a single lady who lived on the South Side of Chicago. Of course, the defendant lives on the South Side of Chicago, and more significantly, Judge, our concern on that, and her age and everything else. The fact she lives alone and the fact that the address. After an interruption by defense counsel, the prosecutor continued: Just this past Sunday evening, we tried to locate a witness of ours at the very same building, a witness who I believe has in fact given the Defense a statement in this case. That is a man by the name of Mr. Hardley. That witness indicated to us he would cooperate with us. He in fact stiffed us, was not there. We have no idea what he's doing in that building. If he's around, there may be contact, and in addition any possible trepidations this young lady may have. The trial judge then remarked: I cannot say they systematically excluded any black jurors, because I don't really feel, for one reason or another, that we really had substantial black jurors that, you know, that I would as a trial lawyer, accept as far as this case is concerned, and the one, basically young black juror basically about the same age as the defendant. I mean, with the exception of the one older lady, I don't know how old she was, and she had children the same age, and Louise Bartlett, but I agree with the State she wasn't the sharpest juror. I can't say they proved they systematically excluded them. Formally denying the mistrial motion, the judge added: I mean, if they started excluding black jurors who basically had worked at a job for ten or twenty years and lived in the community and so forth, maybe I would say there may be something to your motion and if I followed the cases, which I question about whether it's the law in the State of Illinois, but as the law now sits, not having done so, I can't really say, per se, that they did it.