News Coverage of the Alabama Lawsuit

"Suit claims blacks wrongly excluded from jury service for years in Houston and Henry counties," is at the Montgomery News site.

Five blacks who were wrongly excluded from serving on juries have filed a lawsuit challenging that prosecutors in Houston and Henry counties have for years excluded blacks based on race.

A group called the Equal Justice Initiative filed the claim contending District Attorney Douglas Valeska has illegally excluded qualified blacks from serving on juries in serious felony cases, especially capital cases, for decades.

The plaintiffs are five African Americans who state court rulings previously found were illegally excluded from jury service, according to a statement released by EJI. The lawsuit seeks, among other things, ongoing monitoring of jury selection in Houston and Henry counties by a federal court.

Filed in U.S. District Court in Montgomery, the suit alleges violations of the U.S. Constitution and federal anti-discrimination laws.

Earlier coverage of the Alabama civil rights lawsuit begins at the link.  The pleading in Hall, et al v. Valeska is available in Adobe .pdf format.  Related posts are in the jury and race indexes.