Some 12-person jury trials will resume in Massachusetts starting May 1, following an updated order from the Supreme Judicial Court.
But some experts worry that the pandemic could affect the diversity of jury pools.
"We're certainly concerned that juries and jurors who come to court will not represent a cross section of the community," said Randy Gioia, deputy chief counsel for the Public Defender Division of the Committee for Public Counsel Services.
"We all know that studies have shown that racial and ethnic minorities have suffered disproportionately from COVID, and they're less receptive to taking the vaccine," Gioia added. "We're concerned that they'll be less likely to appear for jury duty, and an accused person won't have a jury that represents a fair cross section of the community, like the person is entitled to. That's a major concern, and we don't know how that's going to work out."
We also heard from Norris Guscott, director of the Lynn Food and Fitness Alliance and head of Lynn's Food Security Task Force, about how the city is battling food insecurity.
Click on the audio player above to listen to the full episode.
Segments:
Randy Gioia - 2:16
Norris Guscott - 17:24
