Trials & Litigation
Dead people on list of potential jurors raises alarms in this state
Lawyers in Illinois are questioning whether the statewide jury system has sufficient safeguards to purge people who have died from its lists of potential jurors. (Image from Shutterstock)
Lawyers in Illinois are questioning whether the statewide jury system has sufficient safeguards to purge people who have died from its lists of potential jurors.
James Mertes, a criminal defense lawyer, has said he’s alarmed by the number of dead people whose names showed up on a recent list of potential jurors in rural Whiteside County, Illinois. Mertes and Whiteside County prosecutors say they are concerned that the jury pool process includes dead people, according to a story by the Chicago Tribune.
The issue has come up in the case of Michael Cover, 32, who is charged with felony aggravated battery of a police officer. Mertes, Cover’s attorney, has filed a request to discharge the jury pool because the list of 200 potential jurors contained 60 dead people, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Some county officials dispute the idea that there is a statewide problem with the jury pool system, according to the story.
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