San Francisco, CA,  March 29, 2005 ... The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has called for an investigation into claims that the Alameda County District Attorney's Office maintained an informal practice excluding Jews and African-American women from death penalty juries.

In their letter to State Attorney General Bill Lockyer, ADL Regional Board Chair Allan Steyer, and Regional Director Jonathan Bernstein wrote:

Public confidence in the integrity of the justice system has been dealt a serious blow as a result of the allegations in Alameda County. The days of systematic racial, ethnic, gender, and religious discrimination at the government level were supposed to have ended long ago.  It therefore is in the interest of your office, the courts, and, at a minimum, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office to investigate whether these claims are valid and, if they are, redress any resulting injustices and take all reasonable steps to restore the public's trust in the justice system.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.