Blind But Not Hooded Justice: Court Dismisses Imperial Wizard From Jury Duty

A recent decision by Indiana Judge Roland Chamblee Jr. may have citizens lining up in white robes to get out of jury duty. Chamblee excused Railton Loy from jury duty after he told the court that he is the Imperial Wizard of the National Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and could only be fair to white folks.

Chamblee stated his intention to wear his KKK uniform to the trial.

Chamblee decided wisely that he “saw no reason to subject the criminal justice system to Mr. Loy as a juror.”

The threat would have made for an interesting confrontation. Loy would have been ordered to wear street clothes but he might have fought to keep some other item referencing his racist association (which would also be rightfully barred). It is reminiscent of Barbara Adams, 31, who wore a Star Trek federation uniform to the Whitewater trial, here. This created an awkward problem for the court that it resolved by tossing her for speaking with the media. I will not, however, that the Federation’s prime directives are a bit more consistent with jury duty than the Bylaws of the National Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.

A judge in South Carolina once crossed the line by striking a juror over his dreadlocks, here.

In 2001, Loy was sentenced for harassment of a reporter, here.

Given the recent reports on people avoiding jury duty in the bad economy (here and here), the ranks of professed KKK members could swell in the wake of the decision.