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On a hot August day, people gathered inside the cool space of David Chapel Missionary Baptist Church to discuss the important but rarely discussed topic of community participation in jury service with a panel of four sitting judges.
The panel consisted of Judge Brandy Mueller, 403rd District Court, Judge Maria Cantú Hexsel, 53rd District Court, Judge Selena Avelenga, 460th District Court, and Denise Hernández, County Court at Law No. 6. The panel discussion was moderated by Elijah Scott, host of POV Austin on KAZI FM 88.7, a high school senior, and Nelson Linder, NAACP president and master of ceremonies.
The panel discussed topics ranging from the constitutional requirements for jury duty, the importance of jury service, influence of high-profile cases on jury service, and the impact of jury decisions on the larger community. All the judges acknowledged the disruption caused by jury service to people’s day-to-day activities but that the need for the full community to respond to notices for jury service and attendance when called was important to fulfill the constitutional mandate.
The audience asked questions about the judge’s role in the jury system, the removal of jurors based on race, and how to include younger people in the process. KAZI FM-88.7 taped the forum for future play on the air.
The forum could not have happened without the work of Bessie Evans, Charlene Gregory, Judge Cliff Brown, and Travis County District Clerk Velva Price. Thank you also to our sponsors, which were the Austin Bar Foundation, Austin Community Radio, Inc./KAZIFM 88.7, NAACP-Austin Branch, David Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, Law Office of Dyan Lofton, PLLC, and National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) Greater Austin Section.
