Updated
Dec 23, 2020
Virginia Judge Wonât Try Black Man In Courtroom With White Portraits
Judge David Bernhard is concerned that the portraits might suggest the courtroom is a place historically administered by whites for whites.â
Matthew Barakat
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) â A Black defendantâs right to a fair trial would be harmed if the jury heard the case in a courtroom lined with portraits of white jurists, a northern Virginia judge has ruled.
The upcoming trial of Terrance Shipp on charges of eluding police will be held in a courtroom that has no portraits on the wall, said Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge David Bernhard.