ANALYSIS/OPINION:
The latest example of the cancel culture is a Virginia judge’s ruling that a Black defendant cannot get a fair trial in a courtroom decorated overwhelmingly with portraits of White judges. Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge David Bernhard ordered that the paintings be removed for the upcoming trial of a man charged with assaulting a police officer and other crimes.
As if the defendant is unaware that the vast majority of Americans are White, the judge said in an opinion, “The court is concerned the portraits may serve as unintended but implicit symbols that suggest the courtroom may be a place historically administered by whites for whites, and that thus others are of a lesser standing in the dispensing of justice.”
Posted on December 24, 2020
Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, December 22, 2020
A Fairfax County judge has ruled that a Black defendant can’t get a fair trial in a courtroom decorated overwhelmingly with portraits of White judges and has ordered the paintings to be removed for the man’s upcoming legal proceeding.
Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge David Bernhard wrote in an opinion issued late Monday that the portraits of past judges from the Fairfax County Circuit Court could create the impression that the court is biased. Bernhard wrote that he won’t allow any portraits to be on display for any trial he presides over.
“… the Court is concerned the portraits may serve as unintended but implicit symbols that suggest the courtroom may be a place historically administered by whites for whites, and that thus others are of a lesser standing in the dispensing of justice,” he continued. “The Defendant’s constitutional right to a fair jury trial stands paramount over the countervailing interest of paying homage to the tradition of adorning courtrooms with portraits that honor past jurists.”
The ruling follows a request to remove the portraits contained in a motion from Terrance Shipp Jr., who is scheduled to stand trial Jan. 4 on charges of eluding police, assaulting a police officer and other counts, The Washington Post reported.
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