Daniel Penny may not receive a jury familiar with riding the subway.
When Daniel Penny is on trial for manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in Manhattan Criminal Court for the choking death of Jordan Neely on an F train in May 2023, what constitutes a “jury of his peers”?
Trial consultants usually categorize potential jurors by race, age, and gender, but in this instance, the divide within the jury pool lies in their transit habits: who commutes through the subway daily and who does not.
Would a jury primarily composed of “work-from-home” individuals be advantageous or detrimental to Penny?
As Judge Maxwell Wiley reduced the initial 450 potential jurors to 149 by the end of the week, he began to individually assess them to ensure a fair panel.
Wiley’s approach inquired about the ability of the jurors to serve, particularly addressing those on hourly wages who may face financial constraints due to missed work days.
The disproportionate self-selection of hourly workers out of the jury pool could unintentionally result in fewer subway commuters relative to non-commuters.
For instance, subway ridership last Wednesday, the day jury selection began, was only at 75% of pre-COVID levels.
Those who now rarely use the subway, compared to 2019, are more likely individuals who work remotely or have hybrid work arrangements.
In contrast, daily subway commuters include hourly-wage employees such as grocery clerks, nurses’ aides, and security guards who would find serving on a lengthy trial more challenging.
Moreover, a significant portion of white-collar, salaried Manhattan residents opt to walk to work instead of taking the subway.
He stated in May that he would frequently take the subway multiple times a day, exposed to rising underground violence since late 2019.
Until August this year, subway-related violent crimes have increased since 2019, with felony assaults up by 56%, and murders in the subway experiencing a five-fold rise.
The prevalence of disturbing incidents underground, including potential violent situations, is a reality for frequent subway travelers.
Nicole Gelinas is a contributing editor to the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal.
