By Alan Bean

By the time you read this the jury in the George Zimmerman trial will likely have rendered a verdict; but as I write, deliberations are just underway.

And I’m worried.

I have seen too many all-white juries in the course of fifteen years of advocacy work and they invariably get it wrong.

Poor, young,  black defendants are perceived as a threat by most white jurors and this perception often overrides all other considerations.

I have no desire to see George Zimmerman spend the rest of his life behind bars; nor would I be particularly upset if the jury convicts the defendant of the lesser charge of manslaughter.   (more…)