A motion alleging unconstitutional jury selection in Hamilton County will not be argued further, as prosecutors are moving to dismiss with prejudice all charges against the defendant associated with it.
Earlier this year, Chattanooga attorney John Cavett filed the motion in Hamilton County Criminal Court on behalf of Jonathan Parker. It accused the county’s jury selection of being unconstitutional because it garners mostly white juries.
Hamilton County is about 71% white, 18% Black, 7% Hispanic or Latino, 2% Asian and 2% other, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
So, about 17% to 19% of the people summoned to potentially serve on a jury should be Black to be representative of the county’s demographics, Cavett said in the motion.
Hamilton County Circuit Court Clerk Larry Henry was scheduled to testify about relying solely on driver’s license records for jury selection, but prosecutors moved Monday to have Cavett’s motion stricken.