Virginia Equality Bar Association - Help End Juror Discrimination! (From the National LGBT Bar)

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Help End Juror Discrimination! (From the National LGBT Bar)

Help End Juror Discrimination! (From the National LGBT Bar)

12 Feb 2015 11:39 AM | Bary Hausrath (Administrator)

Yesterday, Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Congresswoman Susan Davis re-introduced the Jury Access Act (S. 447) and the Juror Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 864), respectively. These companion bills are critical pieces of legislation that would help to end anti-LGBT juror discrimination. The LGBT Bar is proud to help lead the effort for the passage of these bills, and to bring the power of the legal community to Capitol Hill in support of it.

And together, we're making real progress; today's re-introduction is bipartisan, with GOP Senator Susan Collins offering her leadership and support to this important effort.

Now, we need your help, too; please call on your Senators and Representatives to sign on as co-sponsors of the Jury Access Act and Juror Non-Discrimination Act. Visit www.Senate.gov to find your Senators' contact information and www.House.gov to find your Representative's, or call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Call three times in order to be connected with both of your Senators and your Representative, and tell them you're a member of the legal community and support Senator Shaheen's and Congresswoman Davis' legislation.

Jury service is critical to ensuring our legal system works. And yet, as recently as last month, attorneys in Houston asked a judge to allow them to inquire about potential jurors' sexual orientation as a way of eliminating LGBT people from the final jury.

That's wrong, and it should be illegal. Sexual orientation and gender identity have no bearing on a juror's ability to serve. And when LGBT jurors are disqualified, there is no jury of our peers.

So please, take a moment and call your Congress Members today. Ask that they co-sponsor the Jury Access Act (S. 447) in the Senate and the Juror Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 864) in the House and work for it's swift passage. With your help, we can bring Republicans and Democrats together to end juror discrimination.

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