Of all the annoying things that have come from the end of the trial in the past week this writer’s assessment of the lone holdout is by far the worst. Knowing only that she is black and a retired state worker, the Ward Room’s Edward McClellan came up with this:
Chiakulas was also a state employee, a toxic combination of liberal leanings that made her inclined to support the governor who signed AllKids and tried to pass the Illinois Covered universal health care plan.
Well first of all, the vast majority of state employees under Blagojevich had no ties to him. It’s like saying all FBI agents must be die-hard Obama supporters. In fact, Blagojevich put them through hell with pay freezes and layoffs. But the best part is the race part.
Here’s the problem with trying to block a juror like Chiakulas: the case of Batson v. Kentucky made it illegal to exclude jurors solely because of race.
Yeah, that’s our problem..not being able to throw a juror out just for being black. Nevermind the whole process is loaded with questions designed to reveal an unusual preference for the defendant..blackness trumps all.
There is a feeling in some circles that all sensible, respectable folks realize that Blagojevich was guilty, and that Chiakulas was a “rogue juror” who may even have been violating her oath by refusing to vote for a conviction. But Chiakulas might simply have been expressing an opinion that’s common in her community.
You see, according to his skewed,
and now debunked stats (you should read this for further take down of this writer), blacks just love Blago and Chiakulas might have once been sensible and respectable until her blackness came through and ruined it. If that’s not enough, the writer accuses Blago of tainting all the black people by caring about them at some point:
Blagojevich may have tainted the jury pool by being a friend to the black community.
Black people, be nice to them and they’ll go out of their way to violate oaths for you.