News Release

Juries not as racially diverse as the communities from which they are drawn

A new review of the literature in the journal Social Issues and Policy Review

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Wiley

Medford, MA – December 3, 2008 – A new review of the literature in the journal Social Issues and Policy Review examines obstacles that prevent diversity on juries and the implications this has on jury performance. Results reveal that there are a wide range of factors that conspire to prevent juries from being as racially diverse as the communities they represent.

Samuel R. Sommers, Ph.D., of the Department of Psychology at Tufts University shows how racial bias in the legal system is not an outdated or obsolete concern, and race still influences many processes.

In his article, Sommers notes how a county in the U.S. has a sizeable number of African-American citizens. Across various trials, not a single jury had enough black jurors to indicate a jury composition representative of the more general racial demographics. The facts describe Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, just prior to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Various reasons exist why juries are often less diverse than the surrounding communities. Members of racial minority groups are often relatively underrepresented when it comes to driver's licenses and voter registration, both of which are lists often used to select people for jury duty.

Even when a diverse group of people shows up for jury duty, lawyers often consider race in deciding whom to challenge during jury selection. Prosecutors are often inclined to remove minority jurors from the panel because of expectations that such individuals are less likely to vote guilty in a case, even though the U.S. Supreme Court prohibits them from excluding jurors based on race.

A legal system with non-diverse juries is problematic. "There are multiple consequences of having juries that are not diverse," Sommers concludes. "Community members begin to lose confidence in the fairness and legitimacy of the legal system, as it is difficult to have faith in a legal system when you never see anyone who looks like you making the important decisions. Furthermore, in some instances we actually see more thorough decision-making processes on diverse juries."

###

This study is published in the December 2008 issue of Social Issues and Policy Review. Media wishing to receive a PDF of this article may contact journalnews@bos.blackwellpublishing.net.

Samuel R. Sommers, Ph.D., is affiliated with Tufts University and can be reached for questions at sam.sommers@tufts.edu.

Published annually, Social Issues and Policy Review (SIPR) is the newest journal from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. This publication provides timely theoretical and empirical reviews of topics and research that directly relate to understanding and addressing social issues and public policy. The content published in SIPR is not limited to a particular point of view, political or social ideology, geographic area of focus, or disciplinary orientation. Each single-issue volume encompasses areas of global concern and focuses on a variety of topics.

Wiley-Blackwell was formed in February 2007 as a result of the acquisition of Blackwell Publishing Ltd. by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and its merger with Wiley's Scientific, Technical, and Medical business. Together, the companies have created a global publishing business with deep strength in every major academic and professional field. Wiley-Blackwell publishes approximately 1,400 scholarly peer-reviewed journals and an extensive collection of books with global appeal. For more information on Wiley-Blackwell, please visit www.wiley-blackwell.com or http://interscience.wiley.com.


Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.