Omotosho v. Giant Eagle, Inc.

997 F.Supp.2d 792 (2014)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P was a stock clerk with Giant (D), and it was alleged that P consumed an unpaid food item in violation of workplace policy. P was fired. P sued D and alleged that white employees had committed similar or worse infractions but, unlike P, were not terminated from employment. A trial was held on P's claim that he was wrongfully discharged from employment because he was African American. Giant (D) got a unanimous verdict. P motion for a new trial in that no African Americans sat on the jury that rendered the verdict. No African Americans were on the panel from which the jury was selected. From these facts, P asserts that he was denied his right to a jury selected from a fair cross section of the community, and, therefore, the jury selection process used failed to comply with the Jury Selection and Service Act of 1968 28 U.S.C. § 1861. The issue of the jury's racial composition was first raised by P at the start of voir dire. P remarked to the Court that none of the twenty-four individuals comprising the panel that appeared for jury service were African American. P moved to 'stop the voir dire proceedings and conduct a hearing on the process that led us to have a [panel] of all Caucasians and no African-Americans.' The court denied P's motion. A hearing was held prior to opening statements on the jury selection process. P moved for a 'mistrial.' He contended that a fair jury had not been selected and that 'the statistical likelihood of pooling a 24-member panel that includes no African-Americans in an evenhanded system would be virtually zero.' P did not offer additional evidence to support his jury challenge until after the trial. P timely moved for a new trial pursuant to Rule 59. P filed a memorandum of law and a number of exhibits.