La. Judge Opens Entire Jena 6 Trial
Responding to a lawsuit filed by multiple media organizations, a Louisiana judge decided today to open to the public all trial proceedings in the case of Mychal Bell. The Jena 6 teen is to be tried beginning Dec. 6 in juvenile court for his role in an alleged group attack on a fellow high school classmate last year, in a case that has sparked massive civil rights protests over perceived racism.
Because the case involves alleged violence, all proceedings will be public even though Bell is being tried in juvenile court, ruled state District Judge Thomas Yeager. “We need to have public trials so the public has confidence in what we do,” he said during a hearing, according to the Associated Press.
As discussed in an earlier ABAJournal.com post, the trial judge, LaSalle Parish District Judge J.P. Mauffray, ruled last week that Bell’s trial would be public. However, Yeager’s ruling today opened up as well pretrial hearings and Bell’s sentencing, if he is convicted, the news agency reports. Yeager presided over the hearing in the media lawsuit because Mauffray is named as a defendant.
Bell, 17, is black, as were his fellow defendants in the incident that occurred about a year ago. The alleged victim, who reportedly was not seriously injured, is white. The incident may have been fueled, at least in part, by tension over ongoing racially charged incidents at the high school that sparked national civil rights protests. They focused on prosecution of the black students that was viewed by many as harsh, especially in light of apparently lenient treatment accorded white students involved in reported racial threats.
As the AP story recounts: “Bell originally was charged as an adult with attempted murder. That charge was reduced before a jury convicted him in June of aggravated second-degree battery. In September that verdict was thrown out and Bell was ordered tried as a juvenile.” Meanwhile, he has been jailed awaiting trial for much of this year.
