U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren took the matter under consideration after a hearing in U.S. District Court in Kansas, saying he would try to rule quickly. But the judge during the hearing noted several counties surrounding the federal courthouse in Wichita already used to draw potential jurors are rural counties. Kansas voted overwhelmingly for Trump in the 2016 election, and Melgren mused during the hearing that he does not see a material difference between picking a jury pool from a group that voted two-thirds for Trump as compared to a group that voted three-fourths for Trump. During the campaign Trump called for a crackdown on immigration and a ban on Muslims entering the country. The government cited legal cases finding that groups of prospective jurors defined by geographical location are not “distinctive” groups for purposes of a constitutional attack on a prospective jury pool.

Source: National Post January 03, 2018 23:44 UTC