Court denies claim that jury pool was too white

ATLANTA - The murder trial of a Hall County man must proceed, even though his jury pool contains relatively few Hispanics, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled Monday. <br> <br> The trial of Brandon Dwayne Smith was delayed last year when fairness questions about the jury pool were raised, where only about 2.6 percent were Hispanic. More than 17 percent of all Hall County adults are Hispanic. <br> <br> Hall County appealed, saying it used the most recent available census numbers to create the jury lists and that most Hispanic residents were not U.S. citizens and therefore ineligible to serve on juries. <br> <br> The state&#39;s high court agreed Monday in a 6-1 decision. <br> <br> When Smith was indicted in March 2000, Hall County did not yet have updated census numbers. So even though the county&#39;s Hispanic population grew 500 percent in the 1990s, county officials used 1990 numbers to pick a jury sample. <br> <br> The court ruled that Hall County was right in using the 1990 census, even if officials knew it was outdated. <br> <br> ``Obviously, the census conducted by the federal government is not perfect, and county populations are not static,&#39;&#39; the court wrote. ``People of all groups move into and out of counties, especially during growth periods such as that currently being experienced by metropolitan Atlanta.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The decision means Georgia counties are not obligated to keep track of population shifts in between census years. Legal experts warned that the Hall County case could have consequences for other counties with rising Hispanic populations. <br> <br> In Georgia, jury rolls are compiled from lists of registered voters and licensed drivers, as well as other sources deemed appropriate by each county&#39;s volunteer jury commission. In addition, any U.S. citizen 18 and older can simply sign up. <br> <br> The Supreme Court noted that Hall County officials tried to increase Hispanics in the jury pool by sending officials to poultry plants, ballparks, churches and other places Hispanics gather to sign up people for jury duty. But court officials testified they had difficulty finding enough prospective panelists who were U.S. citizens. <br> <br> The court noted that the problem would correct itself as soon as the population stabilizes and more newcomers become citizens. <br> <br> ``In our nation of immigrants, it has always been that way,&#39;&#39; the justices wrote. <br> <br> Smith&#39;s attorney, Dan Summer of Gainesville, could not immediately be reached for comment Monday. <br> <br> Justice Robert Benham wrote a three-page dissent that called the decision to wait and let the problem work itself out ``misguided&#39;&#39; and ``shortsighted.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Benham scolded the other justices for accepting the argument that many Hispanics in Hall County work in poultry plants and aren&#39;t citizens. <br> <br> ``If we accept this argument,&#39;&#39; he wrote, ``it will not be long before we apply this same logic to the counties where the Vidalia onions are grown and to counties where the carpet industry thrives. Such assumptions run contrary to American notions of fairness, inclusiveness and justice.&#39;&#39;