New York Statue Disproportionately Excludes Black Residents from Manhattan Jury Pool, Class Action Says

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A New York City public defender has filed a proposed class action that challenges a state law that indefinitely disqualifies those convicted of felonies from serving on juries in Manhattan, no matter the offense or how long ago a conviction occurred.

The 50-page complaint against New York County Clerk and Commissioner of Jurors Milton Tingling alleges that a New York statutory exclusion that disqualifies people convicted of felonies from serving on juries, coupled with decades of racist policing and prosecution practices, disproportionately bars Black citizens from the state court jury pool in Manhattan. 

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Per the suit, the plaintiff cannot serve as a juror in the very courts in which he practices law because he was convicted over a decade ago based on racially targeted drug enforcement laws that reclassified many minor possession offenses as felonies. The plaintiff’s experience is far from unique, the lawsuit says, as Black Manhattan residents are grossly overrepresented among the population with felony convictions and grossly underrepresented among prospective state court jurors.

The case, filed in conjunction with the Community Service Society of New York, relays that roughly 25 percent of all otherwise jury-eligible Black residents, and 40 percent of otherwise eligible Black men, are disqualified from jury service in New York County due to a felony conviction. Only three percent of non-Black, otherwise eligible residents are excluded for the same reason, the filing says.

According to the filing, Tingling has long recognized that Black people are persistently underrepresented in the Manhattan jury pool. Indeed, data published by the Office of Court Administration shows that approximately 63,400 Black jurors have served in the state courts of Manhattan within the last 10 years, the case states. The complaint argues that 17,100 more Black jurors would have served during this time if the county had a system that represented its citizen populace proportionately.

According to the case, the racially biased effect of the exclusion is largely due to decades of racialized policing and prosecution practices in Manhattan. Procedures such as targeted drug enforcement, broken-windows policing, and the New York City Police Department's unconstitutional stop-and-frisk program have directly contributed to Manhattan's racial disparity in felony convictions, the filing contends.

"[T]he Exclusion's indefinite ban means that a felony conviction that a Black Manhattanite received as an 18-year-old in 1986 continues to disqualify them from jury service as a 54-year-old today," the lawsuit expands.

The complaint explains that a New Yorker with a felony conviction must undergo a "burdensome, intrusive, and lengthy" process to restore their jury eligibility. In particular, they must apply for a Certificate of Relief from Disabilities or Certificate of Good Conduct, which demands significant time, resources and often legal assistance to obtain the required personal documents and references, the case relays.

The suit further states that authorities such as the sentencing court or the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) use essentially "standardless discretion" over the decision to grant a certificate application. In practice, extremely few certificates are awarded each year, and the certificate does not inform the recipient that their eligibility to serve on a jury has been restored, the complaint says.

"Most people seeking relief have little, if any, access to counsel or other assistance with their applications," the filing states. "Realistically, the vast majority of New Yorkers with felony convictions will never receive a certificate and will suffer the Exclusion's burden for the rest of their lives."

Ultimately, the case claims, the exclusion disserves the interests of justice.

The lawsuit looks to represent all Black people who are disqualified from jury service under the exclusion contained in New York's judiciary law due to a felony conviction but would be otherwise eligible to serve on state court juries in New York County.

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