[Memo from the Greensboro Justice Fund to Concerned Citizens of the November 3rd Incident]

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TO:  The Concerned Citizens of the November 3rd Incident
FROM: Lewis Pitts & Gayle Korotkin, Attorneys, Greensboro Justice Fund
We fully support this committee's efforts to educate about and seek extension
of the Voting Rights Act. This important legislation to insure the right of
Black people to register to vote and cast that vote in a district drawn so as to
insure "one person-one vote" also has significant additional importance. Most
jury selection for state and federal criminal and civil court is based entirely
on a "master list" made up of registered voters. If obstacles exist preventing
Black people from registering to vote and being on the "master list" for jury
selection, then the entire court system can will discriminate.
We at the Greensboro Justice Fund recently saw first hand the underepresentation
of Blacks in the Federal jury system. As most of you know, on March 22, 1982, a
Federal Grand Jury was empaneled to investigate the civil rights violations
occuring in Greensboro on November 3, 1979, against the slain, wounded, and the
community, by Klan, Nazis, government agents, and perhaps others. The 24-county
Federal Middle District of North Carolina from which this Grand Jury was picked
is about 25% in population, yet out of the 22 Grand Jurors drawn from the master
list, only one was Black.  (One juror selected was later excused for an unknown
reason, leaving the composition of this extremely important Grand Jury at 20
whites and 1 Black.)
Tne Clerk of Federal District Court in Greensboro has informed us that only
registered voters are on the Master List. Since over the years many obstacles
have been placed in the way of Blacks seeking to register to vote, there may be
a pattern of under-representation of Blacks on grand juries over the last 5-10
years. We felt the Grand Jury function of deciding whether to return indictments
or not, and the harshness with which the Criminal Justice System treats Black
defendants, made it essential to look at the list of people selected to serve
on Grand Juries over the last 5-10 years to see if a fair number of Blacks had
been selected for this important job.
Using the attached law, which reads very plainly and clearly, we asked the
Federal Clerk of Court, Cannon Stuart, to allow us to see these past grand jury
records. He re fused and said he would not make the records available unless
ordered to do so by a judge.
This law was passed to prevent the unnecessary delay and expense of seeking
a court order for records as essential as past jury selection information.
Every person accused of criminal wrongdoing and every person involved in any
laws^uit has a right to a fair jury made up of a cross-section of the community.