Jury Selection

* With more and more attention being focused on the racial makeup of juries, perhaps the time has come to make the selection of potential jurors while seated behind a screen or tinted glass partition rendering ethnic characteristics difficult to distinguish. If the jury selection process is to preserve its integrity and credibility, this format should help allay any doubt or suggestion as to whether a panelist was excused based exclusively on his race. With the fate of defendants resting virtually in the hands of the jury, it is incumbent that the jurors know that their selection was based on factors beyond race alone. Any resistance to this proposal only reinforces what many already perceive.

RAYMOND MAESE

San Pedro