Posted: February 5th, 2023
In order for trials to be fair, we can’t be biased about who we select for jury duty. Studies showed that one of the primary issues impacting jury impartiality in jurisdictions across the country is the under-representation of racial and ethnic minorities. Women and minorities were excluded from jury service. Since then, the Supreme Court has attempted to address these issues by making a rule that requires juries to be selected from a “fair cross-section” of society.
A majority of jurisdictions pick their potential jurors from some type of voter registration rolls and/or licensed drivers/state id records. Studies also show that if a voter registration roll tends to be filled with older, white and affluent people, than 10-1 the jurors are going to most likely be from that group. To me I feel like that is being biased. I don’t feel like we have ensure a fair trial if our selection of jurors is picked by a voters card or something like that. We need our jurors to be of any ethnicity and background. They should be open and honest and be willing to listen to every detail of the case and when the time comes to deliberate, they shall not be biased in anyway. The jurors should only care about the evidence that is being presented to them, they should not put into account that the defendant is black, white or Latino. The evidence that is presented to them is all that matters.
Reference:
In search of impartiality. (n.d.). National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Retrieved from https://www.nacdl.org/Landing/Impartial-Representative-Jurys
SOLUTION
The Supreme Court has established the fair cross-section rule to ensure that jury selection is impartial and free from bias. The rule requires that juries be selected from a representative sample of the community, which includes a diverse mix of races, ethnicities, genders, and other demographic groups. This helps to ensure that the jury reflects the diversity of society and minimizes the risk of bias in the trial process.
To address this issue, some jurisdictions have implemented additional measures, such as random selection from a larger pool of potential jurors, to increase diversity and ensure a fair trial for all parties involved. Ultimately, the goal is to have a jury that is representative of the community and can make an impartial decision based solely on the evidence presented in court.
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