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A new plan laying out how San Diego’s federal court will select jurors is drawing criticism from law professors, social scientists, local attorneys and community organizations.
The federal court district’s jury wheel, the list of potential jurors who receive jury qualification notices or summons, has long underrepresented the region’s Black population. The new plan, the groups argue, still doesn’t do enough to ensure that the community will be reflected in potential juror pools.
One of the biggest issues, reports VOSD’s Maya Srikrishnan, is that the Southern District of California plans to continue using only voter registration lists to compile its list of potential jurors. It is the only federal court district in California that does not supplement that list with other sources, like DMV records.
While lawyers have the power to strike potential jurors before a trial, local jurisdictions have quite a bit of say over how they get their initial jury pool that arrives to the courthouse.
“It literally raises a question in my mind of why aren’t they doing these things?” one law professor told Srikrishnan. “When jury yield increases, jury diversity increases. We’re inadvertently excluding Black people by excluding people in general.”
Fletcher Stresses Stability in First State of MTS
Metropolitan Transit System Chairman Nathan Fletcher cheered the agency’s 2021 plans to open the UC San Diego Blue Line extension, lessen the environmental footprint of its fleet, continue to reform its security operation and more in the agency’s first-ever State of MTS speech Thursday night.
Transit agencies across the nation have been hit hard during a pandemic that has ravaged their ridership and budgets. MTS officials, including Fletcher, have said federal CARES Act dollars and years of careful fiscal management have helped the agency avoid laying off or furloughing any employees and allowed the agency to mostly restore service it initially cut last spring. The Union-Tribune noted that other transit agencies have also benefited significantly from federal aid and that MTS ridership is still down about 60 percent amid coronavirus restrictions.
In 2021, Fletcher said, MTS expects to maintain that service and take steps to better serve its riders, including with a continued ramped up cleaning regimen for its trolleys and buses and a new fare collection system that Fletcher said MTS will roll out later this year that ensures “riders will never pay for more than a day pass in one day or a monthly pass in a month.” (The new system is also expected to lead to a fare increase.)
Fletcher, also chair of the county Board of Supervisors, said MTS is set to add 11 new miles of trolley tracks and nine new stations this fall when it opens the $2 billion Blue Line extension expanding service to UTC. The agency is also set to continue its climate change efforts by retiring the last of its diesel buses this year and continuing to work toward its goal to have an all-electric bus fleet by 2040 by bringing on two new electric busses and 12 all-electric Rapid buses.
Fletcher said MTS also plans to continue to overhaul its security operation in the New Year, noting that the agency last week hired a new director of transit security and passenger safety who will lead efforts to implement 65 recommendations laid out in an MTS-commissioned review by the American Public Transportation Association. Fletcher said the recommendations include tweaks to fare inspections practices, officer training and body camera video retention.
“MTS staff will take a deep dive over the next six weeks to develop an action plan moving forward with these recommendations in-hand,” Fletcher said.
The report has yet to be publicly released but MTS spokesman Rob Schupp told VOSD the report will be finalized and released publicly within the next month.
Fletcher acknowledged the agency last year decided against proceeding with a planned November sales tax measure that supporters had hoped could help bolster the transit agency. Instead, Fletcher said, the agency will be rallying behind SANDAG’s 5 Big Moves plan to overhaul the region’s transportation system.
“Elevate SD is continuing our conversations about the future of transit in San Diego, and MTS will provide its full support for what is being done at SANDAG,” Fletcher said, referencing the canceled tax initiative.
Schupp said MTS is in talks with the regional planning agency about the possibility of including some of the short-range improvements discussed during ballot measure talks in the SANDAG initiative.
Chicano Federation Slams County Over Address-Sharing
Chicano Federation CEO Nancy Maldonado said she was shocked by VOSD’s report Thursday revealing that county officials have for months been providing local law enforcement agencies with the addresses of patients who’ve tested positive for COVID-19.
“We were surprised to learn about the sharing of COVID patients’ addresses by the County of San Diego,” she wrote in an email. “Regardless of the legality of sharing data with law enforcement, this is a breach of trust of our communities. At a time when communities of color have been the most impacted by this pandemic and over 61 percent of the cases are in the Latino community, building trust with our communities is critical to ensuring that we can save lives and stop the spread.”
In Other News
- The San Diego DA and public defender offices say they’re reviewing hundreds of cases to ensure no one’s being illegally held in a state mental hospital like one local veteran whose story NBC San Diego investigated.
- San Diego will provide an additional $42 million in rent relief for residents affected by COVID-19. The mayor also announced proposals for eviction bans for tenants and businesses affected by the pandemic. (Union-Tribune)
- Carl DeMaio’s group Reform California has launched an anti-Kevin Faulconer website.
- A real estate group has sued Coronado for denying the construction of granny flats in violation of state law. (Union-Tribune)
- San Diego County opened a second vaccination superstation in Chula Vista. (NBC 7)
- San Diego officials have started to discuss potential budget cuts and the possibility of utilizing city reserves to help close a projected $154 million deficit, which is nearly double the $86 million shortfall projected in November. (Union-Tribune)
The Morning Report was written by Maya Srikrishnan, and edited by Sara Libby.