Chapter 62: Trial Day — Voir Dire and Bias
⚠️ Spoiler Warning
This page covers the events of Chapter 62 in detail. If you haven’t read this far, consider stopping here.
Chapter Summary
Jack Lee and Desiree DuBose arrive at a courthouse surrounded by a mob waving Confederate flags and signs depicting a Black man in a noose. Jack’s former home and office smolder nearby. They slip in through a rear entrance. Inside, Jerome Washington, who walks with a limp, and his wife Pearl are led in. DuBose explains jury selection to them, warning that the commonwealth can challenge jurors too. When the pool enters, it is all white men. DuBose objects on constitutional grounds, but Judge Ambrose insists the situation is statewide and overrules her. Voir dire begins. DuBose grills Nathan Talmadge, a car dealer, about selling to Black customers. He nearly utters a racial slur and is excused. Jack then questions a mechanic, Mr. Runnel, bonding over their fathers’ similar hands and noting Runnel’s union employer desegregated bathrooms. Jack accepts him, but Battle moves to strike for cause because Runnel might know Jack’s father; the judge grants it. After hours of contentious challenges and two courtroom disruptions by protestors, a jury of no peers is seated. Jerome is dispirited, but Pearl urges faith. DuBose tells Jack they must prove the couple innocent to overcome the stacked jury.
Key Events
- Arrival at the courthouse: a large, hostile crowd waves Confederate flags and noose imagery; Jack’s burned home and office are still smoldering.
- The media presence includes Howard Pickett being interviewed, and Sally Reeves’s son directing open loathing at Jack.
- Jerome is revealed to have a pronounced limp; Pearl wears a simple blue dress.
- DuBose explains the jury selection process, including unlimited challenges for cause and four peremptory strikes.
- The juror pool consists entirely of white men; DuBose calls it unconstitutional. Ambrose acknowledges the problem but says it is common across the state and refuses to intervene.
- First juror Nathan Talmadge, a car dealer, cannot recall selling to a Black person and nearly says a slur. DuBose forces his removal.
- Jack questions mechanic Mr. Runnel, highlighting his union job and his company’s elimination of segregated bathrooms. Jack accepts him.
- Battle strikes Runnel for cause, claiming a connection to Jack’s father. Ambrose grants the strike.
- After many disputes, sidebar conferences, and two protester invasions, an all-white, all-male jury is seated.
- Jerome despairs; Pearl insists they must have faith. DuBose declares that the only path is to prove actual innocence.
Character Development
- Jack Lee: Crushed by anxiety—his stomach butterflies grow to condors, then shrink to hawks when DuBose squeezes his hand and reassures him. He feels utterly out of his depth yet manages to connect with a working-class juror.
- Desiree DuBose: Displays seasoned courtroom command, unafraid to press a white juror on his racism. She also nurtures Jack, telling him he deserves to be there. Her realism at the end—acknowledging they must prove innocence—shows her strategic clarity.
- Jerome Washington: His physical vulnerability (the limp) is revealed for the first time. His optimism crumbles when he sees the all-white jury, a sharp contrast to Pearl’s firm resolve.
- Pearl Washington: Steadfast and vocal, she scolds her husband to have faith and openly declares her trust in the defense team.
- Judge Ambrose: Attempts to project fairness by warning Battle about the “dubious letter” and checking some of his strikes, but his tolerance of the all-white pool undercuts that posture.
- Sally Reeves’s son: A brief but chilling presence—his whispered joke and mask of loathing toward Jack previews the entrenched bias in the community.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Racial Prejudice as a Legal Weapon: The all-white jury is not accidental; the system actively excludes Black and female jurors. Even a judge who knows better refuses to fix it.
- The Confederate Flag and the Noose: The external mob imagery becomes an echo inside the courtroom, reminding everyone of the stakes. The signs “THE KILLER COLOREDS MUST FRY” make the desired verdict explicit.
- Jack’s Anxiety Metaphor: The condors in his belly that DuBose reduces to hawks mirror his internal journey from near paralysis to performable fear, driven by her physical gesture of support.
- Connecting Through Class: Jack’s try at jury rapport—noting Runnel’s mechanic hands and his father’s similar work—is a small attempt to bridge across divisions, even if the system ultimately rejects it.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter is the trial’s first concrete step and immediately exposes the stacked deck. Voir dire, normally a ritual of fairness, becomes an arena where bias is both on display and systemically reinforced. The all-white jury, the mob outside, the judge’s waffling, and the prosecutorial maneuvering all signal that the legal system itself is an adversary. It also crystallizes the defense strategy: because a fair jury is impossible, they must prove innocence beyond any doubt. The chapter plants the seed of desperation that will drive every courtroom battle to come.
Study Questions & Answers
- Why does DuBose object to the jury pool, and what is the judge’s response?
She argues the pool of only white men violates the constitutional right to a jury of the defendants’ peers, as there is not one Black person or woman. The judge sympathizes but says the same pattern exists statewide and refuses to intervene. - How does Jack briefly win over juror Runnel, and why does that acceptance fail?
Jack spots that Runnel is a mechanic and mentions his own father’s similar hands. He then brings up Runnel’s union employer desegregating bathrooms. The prosecution strikes Runnel for cause, claiming his shared occupation with Jack’s father might bias him; the judge grants the strike. - What is the significance of Pearl Washington’s reaction at the end of the chapter?
While Jerome sinks into hopelessness, Pearl forcefully declares her trust in the defense team. Her response contrasts the couple’s internal resilience and shows that their hope depends on DuBose and Jack proving their innocence, not on the makeup of the jury.