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This jury, which will have to commit for some time, will likely be stacked with women, the old, government workers, and the unemployed. That probably helps the prosecutor in this case.

Let's see:

1. Women, take a look at this thread. The prosecution is not often that excited by women particularly older women who were raised in eras of more morals on the jury in rape cases. There are not that many feminazis out there and like the woman on this thread women jurors often can often figure out another woman.

2. The Old, As I said above people raised in more moral days than today are not the prosecutors friend. And if it is an older person who worked hard there entire life and did not stoop to "dancing" to get ahead, the prosecution may really be in trouble. And an older person will know what "dancer" means.

3. Government workers, this might be a group that cuts the prosecutors way. Of course they also might know how inefficient and tyranical government agencies they work in can be.

4. The unemployed, this group might work for the prosecution, but then they often feel the system including the DA is against people like them.

I personally do not see the jury pool in Durham as bad for the defense as many do here. There are many many respectable African-Americans who would see right through Mangum and would not be very sympathetic to her.

I'm going to have to go with my own experiences picking juries, but I appreciate your thoughts, too. We disagree.

This is a jurisdiction which elects its DA in the Democrat primary. That's good for black defendants, but not high profile white ones accused of raping a black woman from the community.

This is a jurisdiction in which many who might otherwise help the defense's jury pool will not be part of the jury pool because their permanent address is somewhere else, because they're Duke students.

The Townies are going to dominate the jury, and many will have an ax to grind with the privileged students of Duke. This case will bring out stealth jurors, determined to have their moment. I think the defense does better if it moves the trial to another jurisdiction.

Good defense jurors in this case will be the same as good jurors in a big civil case. Give me white men who are professionals, business owners, and such.

The Durham blacks who see through Mangum, and who may be somewhat traditional and moral in their own right, nevertheless may not be willing to take the heat from Shabazz and the boys and the rest of their ilk if they voted to acquit. I just don't see them standing up for what is right in favor of white defendants and against a black "victim." If they weren't on the plantation, they wouldn't be voting Dummyrat in the first place and Durham wouldn't be a solid Dummy town.

People in Durham have told me that the power structure in Durham has ways of punishing those who don't play by the rules laid out by those "running" Durham. So, I'm not sure I'd agree with your theories about a fair trial in Durham.