Black DA on trial for unfairly firing white employees

Race bias trial set to begin:

Eddie Jordan, the first African-American to serve as Orleans Parish district attorney, arrived in federal court Monday to defend himself against accusations that he fired white employees in favor of black staff members who were less qualified.

The employment discrimination trial began Monday with jury selection before U.S. District Court Judge Stanwood Duval.

Testimony is expected to start this week in the case brought by dozens of former employees at the district attorney's office fired by Jordan as he assumed office two years ago.

Judith DeCorte, who worked as a legal assistant in the child support office for 14 years, sued Jordan after he cleaned house days into his first term in January 2003, as Jordan succeeded Harry Connick, the city's top prosecutor for nearly 30 years.

Forty-three of her colleagues, all Caucasians except for one Hispanic, joined her in a suit that received a preliminary nod from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Jordan, the former U.S. Attorney, was on his old stomping grounds Monday, but in a far different position.

"I am not a racist, and I think that will come out in court," Jordan told reporters.

Jordan's legal team has said that the wave of firings were simply the reality of a "change of administration." In court filings, Jordan said he left the firing and hiring of administrative and staff employees up to a "transition team" led by an aide to U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans.

Early Monday morning, Duval and the huddle of attorneys on both sides questioned a pool of about 70 prospective jurors.

One-by-one, jurors were called up to the judge's bench. There, conversations were purposely kept to whispers and were not audible in the audience, to avoid contaminating the jury pool, the judge said.

In court papers, Jordan has said neither race nor job performance were considered during the purge, which cost 56 people from the Connick era their jobs.

Of the 56 fired, 53 were white, according to the lawsuit. On the day Jordan took office, 57 percent of the administrative and staff employees were Caucasian, as is Connick, and 40 percent were African-American.

Within six months of Jordan assuming office, 68 people were hired for the newly vacant jobs. Of that lot, 92 percent were black and 7 percent were white, the suit says.

A number of the newly hired workers were given jobs as payback for working in the Jordan campaign, his legal team said, because they shared his philosophy and were considered loyal to him.

So loyalty is more important than ability?

In the news:

Jordan, plaintiffs clash over firings

New Orleans D.A. target of race bias suit

Trial begins in case alleging discrimination by black DA

Around the Blogosphere:

The District Attorney and "Reverse" Discrimination