A Stitch in Haste

I think I've finally found an actual "activist judge" --

A judge's comments in recent months that she would refuse to seat an all-white jury have raised eyebrows at Cook County Criminal Court and questions about whether the judge acted inappropriately.

"Folks, you all know I have a rule; I don't seat all white jurors," Circuit Judge Evelyn Clay said as a jury was being picked to hear a murder trial last month, according to court transcripts.
...
Clay, who is African-American, made the remarks in chambers before three separate trials, according to transcripts reviewed by the [Chicago] Tribune.

The interesting thing about the law of juries and race is that the concern is often not only whether the defendant gets a fair trial, but also whether the jury pool specifically (and the community generally) are being denied the right to serve as a juror. See Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986)

Nevertheless, if both litigants are happy with the jury selection process, then I don't see what right the judge has to overlay her own version of non-discrimination (which in this instance is clearly reverse discrimination) onto that process. That seems to me to be a clear denial of due process to the criminal defendant, or to all litigants in a civil jury trial.

Also, the question of whether Judge Clay allows all-black juries is unclear. Or all-male juries, or all-retiree juries or all-high-school-droupout juries. Are the interests of justice also not compromised by such juries?

Other thoughts at Ramblings' Journal, CrimLaw.