New Empirical Research: Racial Bias in Jury Selection Hurts Jurors, Not Just the Parties
The American Psychological Association published a study by two psychology professors at Bates College showing the effects of race-discriminatory peremptory strikes on potential jurors who witness that dynamic during voir dire and then become trial jurors. The APA’s Psych Net described the significance of this research this way:
Racial bias in jury selection has been widely documented in the literature, with much attention on consequences for defendants of color. The current research expanded this focus by investigating how jurors might be impacted by witnessing racial bias during jury selection. In addition, the current research identified a potential intervention to reduce prosecutors’ reliance on race when selecting individuals for a jury: a warning about the dangers of using aspects of identity as a basis for excluding jurors. Implementing such a procedure during jury selection could contribute to a more fair process for jurors and defendants alike.
Fed Courts Propose New Policy on Visual Aids in Jury Trials
According to the National Law Journal ($$), the U.S. Judicial Conference’s Advisory Committee on Evidence Rules voted to approve a rule meant to prevent misleading or unfairly prejudicial illustrative aids from being presented to juries. It now goes to a standing committee for consideration. The proposal states that a judge may allow use of an illustrative aid if its purpose of assisting jurors’ understanding of an argument isn’t outweighed by “the danger of unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, misleading the jury, undue delay, or wasting time.” The rule would leave it to trial judges to decide whether advance notice was required before a visual aid could be introduced. A note to the rule provides, “If those dangers substantially outweigh the value of the aid in assisting the trier of fact, the trial court should exercise its discretion to prohibit or order the modification of the use of the illustrative aid.” The proposed rule also states that a visual aid must be entered into the record when practical, and it cannot be provided to a deliberating jury unless all parties consent or there’s good cause.
New Jersey Begins Tracking Juror Demographics to Assist Cross-Section Analysis
USA Today’s affiliate northjersey.com reports New Jersey's court system has started collecting demographic information about jurors in voir dires across the state. Court administrators assert this new effort can provide attorneys with more time to assess the makeup of a jury pool before trial. As the Jur-E Bulletin reported last year, collecting demographic information about a potential juror’s race, ethnicity, and gender was a key part of reforms the New Jersey Supreme Court approved in July 2022 to improve jury selection processes. Potential jurors have the option to provide the information on their qualification questionnaires. Katie Sobko, author of the article, says New Jersey is the first state judiciary to collect demographic information as part of its jury management system.”
Australia’s Criminal Penalty Against Jurors Doing Research Has Shortcomings
The News Wire reports that, despite criminal penalties against jurors doing independent research during a trial, a murder trial in South Melbourne was terminated after the judge found out about a juror violation of the policy. A “frustrated” Justice Lex Lasry had no choice but to discharge the jury, saying, “I’m told one of your number has made inquiries outside of this courtroom and on the internet about this case. This is in direct contradiction of what I told you two days ago and what I predicted would happen if such a thing occurred is now going to happen. You are going to have to be discharged.”