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Conn. Task Force Recommends Widening Jury Pool To Combat Racial Bias

Image by David Mark from Pixabay

A Connecticut task force report has made new recommendations on how to combat racial bias in the jury system.

Connecticut Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Robinson said he has reviewed those recommendations. He said he has put forward legislation that would increase the pool of eligible people to serve as jurors.

This would also include legal permanent residents who are not citizens and certain individuals with felony convictions. Anyone who has served their time in prison would have to wait seven years before being allowed to sit on a jury.

A state lawmaker would have to sponsor the legislation, and the bill would have to be approved in the General Assembly and signed by Governor Ned Lamont to become law.

Robinson hopes that the changes are made as "quickly as they can.”