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Legal Policy
Legal Policy Short Paper
Amanda Sharpless
CJ 500: Critical Issues in the Criminal Justice System
Dr. Beshears
August 22, 2021
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Legal Policy
One issue that has arose through time is the underrepresentation of minorities, young
adults, and those in the lower class when being selected for a jury. When picking the jury for a
trial, it is meant to be racial and class neutral. The sixth amendment of the Constitution states that
each defendant has the right to a speedy and public trial, which should be accompanied by an
impartial jury where the crime has taken place. When it comes to the jury selection, it is possible
that a selected juror may not be from the same demographic area as the defendant (Gau, 2016).
The outcome of the jury could also vary across each case depending on the race of the defendant.
Those in the jury, individually, may have their own set moral compass along with different
viewpoints on the matter.
In the article written by Gau, the results showed that African American mock jurors were
more likely to acquit the defendant of murder if they were also African American as opposed to a
defendant who was Caucasian (Gau, 2016). The same results also showed that Caucasian jurors
were lenient overall, and they judged both Caucasian and African American mock defendants
equally as harsh (Gau, 2016). It was determined that if the crime committed was harsh then the
punishment decided by the jury would be harsh as well. Ultimately the African American mock
jurors were more likely to see the black defendant as remorseful, while the white jurors viewed
them as dangerous (Gau, 2016).
It is obvious that when it comes to the jury selection that interests and purpose to be
unbiased and fair should be their number one priority. Although a jury is provided with all the
facts and evidence of a case, they still may not be able to come to a conclusion of a guilty
verdict. This, known as jury nullification, happens when “jurors refuse to apply the law to a give
set of facts” (Fissell, 2013). There are many reasons as to why a jury may come to this point. For
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instance, an individual juror may relate somehow to the defendant and not want to have them
punished. The juror may know the defendant, and act as if they do not, and push for them to not
be punished due to the personal connection they have. Going back to what Fissel states about
jury nullification, because of their personal feelings or connection, they are rejecting the law and
could skew the outcome of the defendant.
When a jury is being selected from a primarily white community, how can it be made
sure that there is minority representation as well? To make sure these potentially biased
situations do not happen, a systematic way of fairly choosing an equal jury must be designed.
There also becomes an issue with prosecutors who try and have some jurors removed so the
outcome is in his/hers favor. In Fissel’s article, he refers to the case of Batson v. Kentucky where
this very thing happened. A prosecutor in the case tried to have the only black jurors on the jury
removed so that it would then consist if an all-white jury that would indict the black defendant
(Fissel, 2013).
In concluding, when selecting a jury, the process should be fair and unbiased and have an
equal representation of all classes and races. As a juror, it should be known that once you step
into the courtroom, all personal opinions should be disregarded, and decisions should be made
regarding the facts of the case no matter what race the defendant is. Studies showed that white
jurors were the ones who were more equally when deciding an outcome for a defendant while
black jurors were more likely to want to acquit a defendant who was also black. Lastly, jury
nullification can be seen when a juror may have those prejudices or bias towards the defendant
and a decision cannot be made.
To be able to fairly choose a jury for a case, each court district should have a database
where all races and socioeconomic classes are presented equally so they each have a fair shot of
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being chosen. For as many potential white jurors there are, there should be just as many other
minorities available as well, and the same goes for those in different socioeconomic classes. In
Gau’s article, it is stated that “small-group research shows that diversity improves performance”
(Gau, 2016). When having such a diverse jury, it allows for all different types of views and
opinions to be brought to deliberation.
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References
Fissell, B. M. (2013). Jury nullification and the rule of law. Legal Theory, 19(3), 217-241
Gau, J. M. (2016). A jury of whose peers? The impact of selection procedures on racial
composition and the prevalence of majority-white juries. Journal of Crime and
Justice, 39(1), 75-87.
