Virginia Judge Wonât Try Black Man in Courtroom Lined With White Portraits
David Bernhard, a circuit court judge, wrote in his decision that the display of portraits of white judges âis based on a non-racial principle, yet yields a racial result.â
Portraits of judges hanging in a courtroom of the Fairfax Circuit Court in 2015.Credit.Pool by Jahi Chikwendiu
Published Jan. 1, 2021Updated Jan. 2, 2021
When a Black man appears in a Virginia courtroom this month to stand trial on charges of eluding the police, assaulting an officer and other crimes, he will face a scene that defendants in that room have not experienced in decades: The portraits of white judges will no longer line the walls.
A judge rules that a Black defendant shouldn t have to stand trial in a courtroom decorated with portraits of mostly White judges 790business.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from 790business.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Public defenders raised the issue in a motion titled Motion to Remove Portraiture Overwhelmingly Depicting White Jurists Hanging in Trial Courtroom. While to some the issue of portraits might be a trivial matter, to those subject to the justice system it is far from the case, Bernhard wrote in his ruling, issued Sunday.
He said he was concerned that the portraits may serve as unintended but implicit symbols that suggest the courtroom may be a place historically administered by whites for whites.
Attorneys stand in front of portraits of white jurists in a Fairfax County courtroom
Virginia judge won t try Black man in courtroom lined with portraits of white jurists
By MATTHEW BARAKAT | Associated Press
Published
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) - A Black defendant s 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.
Bernhard noted that his usual courtroom has no portraits. But jury trials that were postponed during the coronavirus pandemics are now being held in larger courtrooms. The walls of those rooms are lined with portraits of retired judges who are overwhelmingly white, he said.
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.