It’s a question Dane County has studied for 13 years: How can its courts ensure that trials are not heard by all-white juries?
While no clear answer has been found, one factor has persisted: About half of the jury summonses sent to potential minority jurors do not reach them because of outdated addresses on the state Department of Transportation lists provided to courts.
“Everybody knows what the problem is,” said Jim Cooley, a UW-Madison Law School professor with the school’s legal defense program. “For minorities, they have to move far more often than stable, white, middle-class folks.”