Race in the Jury Box: Affirmative Action in Jury Selection

by Hiroshi Fukurai

Overview

Race in the Jury Box focuses on the racially unrepresentative jury as one of the remaining barriers to racial equality and a recurring source of controversy in American life. Because members of minority groups remain underrepresented on juries, various communities have tried race-conscious jury selection, termed "affirmative jury selection." The authors argue that affirmative jury selection can insure fairness, verdict legitimization, and public confidence in the justice system. This book offers a critical analysis and systematic examination of possible applications of race-based jury selection, examining the public perception of these measures and their constitutionality. The authors make use of court cases, their own experiences as jury consultants, and jury research, as well as statistical surveys and analysis. The work concludes with the presentation of four strategies for affirmative jury selection.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780791486252
Publisher:	State University of New York Press
Publication date:	09/18/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Hiroshi Fukurai is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Richard Krooth is Visiting Scholar of Sociology at the University of California at Berkeley and teaches International Studies at Golden Gate University. They are the coauthors of Common Destiny: Japan and the United States in the Global Age and (with Edgar W. Butler) of Race and the Jury: Racial Disenfranchisement and the Search for Justice.

Table of Contents

Preface

Table of Cases

1. INTRODUCTION TO RACIALLY MIXED JURIES

Racially mixed juries and jury verdicts
The significance of minority jurors in the jury box
Reform and its barriers
Conclusions

2. DEFINING AND MEASURING RACE AND RACIAL IDENTITY

Measuring and identifying race
Social deconstruction of race: Social elements and concepts
Reliability and validity of race as a measurement
Racial identity and ancestral backgrounds
Deconstructing race and the importance of affirmative action programs
Conclusions

3. RACIALLY MIXED JURIES AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

Affirmative action in jury selection
The jury 'de medietate linguae' model
The Hennepin County model
The social science model
Public perceptions of racially balanced juries
Results
Racially diverse juries, racial quotas, and peremptory challenges
Conclusions

4. EUGENE “BEAR” LINCOLN AND THE NATIVE AMERICAN JURY: AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN JURY SELECTION AND PEREMPTORY INCLUSION

People v. Eugene “Bear” Lincoln
Defense strategies to increase the likelihood of a racially diverse jury
Affirmative jury structures and peremptory inclusion
The need for progressive legislative and court action
Conclusions

5. THE SIXTH AMENDMENT AND THE RACIALLY MIXED JURY

Impartiality
The fair cross-section requirement
Jury of one's peers
Conclusions

6. SHORTCOMINGS OF PROCEDURALLY BASED REMEDIES: JURY REPRESENTATION FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END OF THE JURY SELECTION PROCESS

The goal of random selection and the fair cross-section doctrine
Empirical checkpoints in jury selection
Jury representation from the beginning to the end of jury selection
Analyses and findings
Partial remedies and their impacts on jury selection
Final jury composition: Inequities, remedies, and future reforms
Conclusions

7. JURY NULLIFICATION AND THE MINORITY-DOMINANT CRIMINAL JURY: THE O. J. SIMPSON VERDICT AND ACQUITTAL BY RACE

Presumption of innocence, the burden of proof, and reasonable doubt
The Simpson jury and a hypothetical scenario
A hypothetical scenario: Results and findings
Jury nullification, racial identity, and legal concepts
Conclusions

8. JURY NULLIFICATION AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION JURIES

Jury nullification
Jury nullification and affirmative action juries
Jury nullification and criminal justice concepts
Judicial and legislative history of jury nullification
Conclusions

9. RACE AND THE AFFIRMATIVE JURY: CONCLUSIONS

The jury and the potential for democracy
Distinguishing features of affirmative action in jury selection
Conclusions

Appendix A: SURVEY AND DATA BASE INFORMATION

Community surveys (4 data sets)
College student survey (1 data set)
Jury panel survey (1 data set)
College student experiment (1 data set)
Census Information

Appendix B: METHODOLOGICAL STRATEGIES ON HOW TO DETERMINE AND MEASURE RACE IN COURTROOMS

Notes

Bibliography

Index