Supporters could be on juries of charged politicians

Former Democratic Sens. John Ford and Roscoe Dixon, and Sen. Kathryn Bowers, also a Democrat, are among seven individuals charged in an elaborate FBI sting called “Tennessee Waltz.”

Both critics and supporters have said a home-court jury would benefit the three West Tennesseans.

“You can’t inquire (in jury selection) as to how they vote because that would be an unconstitutional inquiry,” former federal prosecutor Dan Clancy said. “You can’t eliminate someone because they vote Democrat or Republican or because of their race or sex or religion. If somebody worked for their campaign? You could raise it, but it wouldn’t necessarily get someone off.”

However, the chances of all-Memphis juries deciding the lawmakers’ cases is unlikely. In federal court here, juries are drawn from pools of registered voters not only from Shelby, but also four other counties in the Western Division of the federal court’s Western District. They are Dyer, Fayette, Lauderdale and Tipton.

In 1990, a jury of eight blacks and four whites resulted in a mistrial in the bank fraud trial of Ford’s brother, former U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Sr., and three co-defendants.

Over Ford’s protests, jurors in the second trial were chosen in Jackson, Tenn., from the 17 counties of the district’s Eastern Division after U.S. District Court Judge Odell Horton noted the first jury’s misconduct and the publicity surrounding the case.

The trial was held in Memphis where jurors were sequestered four days a week and spectators were not allowed to enter the courtroom once testimony began.

Ford argued that selecting a jury from the Eastern Division significantly reduced the number of black people in the jury pool and deprived him of his right to be tried by a jury of his peers. But the 11 white jurors and one black ended up acquitting Ford and two others.

The late U.S. District Court Judge Jerry Turner, who presided over the second trial, said the verdict showed that “black people and white people can judge each other fairly, if they are just given a chance.”

There has been no indication by prosecutors that they intend to seek such special procedures in the cases against John Ford, Bowers and Dixon.

“I’m quite sure that West Tennesseans (of the Western Division) are perfectly capable of being fair and impartial,” said defense attorney William Massey, who represents Bowers. “It doesn’t matter if someone’s heard about the case. The question is can you set that aside and be fair.”

John Ford pleaded not guilty last week to the federal bribery and extortion charges. Bowers and Barry Myers, described as a “bag man” in the indictments, also entered pleas of not guilty.

Also charged in the case are Sen. Ward Crutchfield, D-Chattanooga; Rep. Chris Newton, R-Cleveland; and Charles Love, a Chattanooga lobbyist who is also described as a “bag man.”