A look at the jury in the retrial of DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis
Juror No. 13
White male, retired plumber
Juror No. 14
Black female, IRS employee
Juror No. 23
Black female, State Farm call center employee
Juror No. 37
White male, nurse practitioner at Grady Hospital
Juror No. 43
White male, occupation unknown
Juror No. 46
White female, physician assistant
Juror No. 54
Black female, occupation unknown
Juror No. 55
Black female, retired from Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice
Juror No. 62
Black male, YMCA employee
Juror No. 66
Black male, fraud analyst
Juror No. 69
White female, teaches business management
Juror No. 70
Black male, contract manager
During the first trial of DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis, a jury made up entirely of women — 10 black, two white — couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict.
For his retrial, the jury is evenly split between women and men, with seven black jurors and five white jurors.
What does the gender and racial mix of the new jury, chosen Friday, mean for the outcome of the case? Maybe not a whole lot, said several jury consultants and courtroom experts.
What may matter more is the jurors’ personal beliefs, publicity about other corruption cases in DeKalb and knowledge that the last trial ended with a hung jury.
Ellis, suspended for nearly two years, is facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted of allegations that he threatened contractors who refused to donate to his 2012 re-election campaign. Ellis’ attorneys argued the county leader is guilty of nothing more than aggressive fundraising. Last October, the jury deliberated for 11 days before the judge was forced to declare a mistrial.
However dissimilar the two juries seem in terms of demographics, jurors tend to rely on the evidence and their own sense of right and wrong.
No one should assume that Ellis’ mistrial in October was caused by the jury’s most superficial characteristics, said Trisha Renaud, a jury consultant for Trial Advantage.
“It’s really simplistic to say that an all-female jury is bound to be a hung jury — it’s meaningless,” Renaud said. “But there is something to be said for (racial) diversity on juries. Some studies say that diverse juries discuss issues better, bring different experiences to the table and have more thorough discussions.”
Throughout the jury selection process this week, jurors answered questions about their views on aggressive requests for donations, law enforcement officers and DeKalb’s government.
Those who admitted having strong opinions that would interfere with an objective assessment of the evidence in the case were excused. Those who said they could be fair and impartial often remained in the jury pool.
Some ended up on the jury even though they acknowledged having opinions that could affect how they’ll view the case.
“The question is whether that person can set aside that belief or opinion and be fair and impartial,” Judge Courtney Johnson said in court.
Juror No. 13, a retired plumber, was selected for the panel even after he questioned the appropriateness of soliciting vendors.
“If you call me and ask me for a contribution and you’re in a position of cutting me off from business … I don’t think that’s right,” he said.
Another of the jurors said businesses could be put in an awkward position when asked for contributions from the government official who’s ultimately responsible for paying their contacts.
“It just seems like it could be a conflict of interest,” said Juror No. 37, a nurse practitioner.
After the jury was seated, Ellis’ attorneys argued unsuccessfully that prosecutors had improperly used all their jury strikes to eliminate black residents from the jury pool, which is illegal. District Attorney Robert James explained that he had other reasons for removing them besides race.
How different this jury will be compared to the last is anyone’s guess, said Jeff Brickman, a former DeKalb district attorney and federal prosecutor.
“The most relevant issue remains the same,” he said, “Whether the state will be able to convince a jury he is guilty. Who knows? In the end, it’s the evidence.”
Gerald Griggs, who represented one of the educators in the Atlanta Public Schools cheating trial, said more diverse juries are generally more careful as they evaluate the facts of the case and hold prosecutors to their high burden of proof.
“They are more meticulous,” Griggs said. But he noted that the jury could end up in the same place as the last one, without a conviction or an acquittal.
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