The "Williamsburg Effect" — the widespread gentrification of Brooklyn — is more detrimental than many realize. Brooklyn is known for its assortment of ethnicities, its hodgepodge of identities and its collection of cultures. But within the past few years, Brooklyn has experienced a tremendous influx of well-off and well-educated white residents, who are not only driving up the cost of living in the area and introducing expensive businesses, but also effectively and rapidly "gentrifying" the borough's jury pool, morphing courtroom decisions, and altering verdicts, according to some local lawyers.

In 2010, Brooklyn was 35.7 percent white, 31.9 percent black or African-American and 10.4 percent Asian. According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, just two years later, 49.5 percent of the population was white, 35.8 percent was black or African-American and 11.3 was percent Asian. In both years, 19.8 percent of the population was Hispanic, Latino or Spanish, of any race. While there is no census data available showing the current demographic breakdown for the borough, there's little doubt whites have surpassed 50 percent of the population; rapid expansion coincided with a 77 percent rent spike from 2000 to 2012.

For prosecutors in criminal cases, gentrification is good news. But it's bad news for defendants, who are convicted at higher rates by jurors who used to live in Manhattan and those like them. According to lawyer Arthur Aidala, juries in Brooklyn used to be "80 percent people of color," but now juries consist of what he calls "law-and-order types."

"The jurors are becoming more like Manhattan — which is not good for defendants," noted veteran defense lawyer Julie Clark during an interview with The New York Post. "They are ... much more trusting of police. I'm not sure people from the University of Vermont would believe that a police officer would [plant] a gun.''

Police misconduct is real in Latino and African-American communities, especially compared to white communities. Stop and Frisk, excessive force, sexual misconduct, fraud and theft, raids and searches occur at high rates, and they are almost always left uninvestigated. The heavy introduction of white and affluent jurors affects every case that goes to trial. Grand juries, which were once more skeptical of police, are now filled by white, police-trusting 20-somethings more likely to obediently agree with authorities. They are confident and college-educated, and they can potentially "hijack the jury."

"People who can afford to live in Brooklyn, now, don't have the experience of police officers throwing them against cars and searching them. A person who just moves here from Wisconsin or Wyoming, they can't relate to [that]. It doesn't sound credible to them," said Aidala.

Civil courts are also feeling the demographic changes. The courts were once pro-plaintiff, but they have become pro-defendant. Mnay of these jurors believe plaintiffs shouldn't be awarded millions of dollars for "nothing." In one case, a man who was injured after he fell from scaffolding while working at a Brooklyn school sued the city, as he'd suffered debilitating juries. The plaintiff's lawyer settled for $6 million; the conservative jury would have opted to award the man just $2 million.

"I absolutely felt like I had a much different jury on my hands than I would have had five years ago — they were MBAs and attorneys, everyone had an advanced degree," said plaintiff's lawyer Edmond Chakmakian. "There were very few minorities on the jury. It was a real white-bread jury. It's a whole different ballgame."

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