NC court overturns conviction on racial bias in picking jury

By GARY D. ROBERTSON
Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s Supreme Court has overturned the robbery conviction of a man because prosecutors had wrongly blocked a potential juror from his trial based on racial bias. Legal authorities say Friday’s 4-3 ruling marks the first time in state history that a criminal conviction was invalidated because of a prosecutor’s unlawful exclusion of a Black juror through a process set by the U.S. Supreme Court. The case involved a defendant who has already served his prison sentence. The potential juror’s dismissal was based originally on her body language and her response to a question. Three justices upheld a trial judge’s ruling allowing the dismissal.