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Vanderbilt University Law School

Law and Race

Jury selection

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Full-Text Articles in Law

The Effects Of Race-Conscious Jury Selection On Public Confidence In The Fairness Of Jury Proceedings: An Empirical Puzzle, Nancy J. King Jan 1994

The Effects Of Race-Conscious Jury Selection On Public Confidence In The Fairness Of Jury Proceedings: An Empirical Puzzle, Nancy J. King

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

In "Powers v. Ohio," the Court held that a peremptory challenge based on race violates the equal protection right of the challenged veniremember not to have her opportunities for jury service determined by her skin color. Powers and its progeny have placed defendants in the secondary role of enforcers of jurors' equal protection rights, granting defendants relief whenever jurors' rights are violated. This shift away from litigant rights to juror rights solved some doctrinal problems but created others. One of these problems is the subject of this essay-the task of judging when, if ever, the Constitution permits racial preferences in …


Racial Jurymandering: Cancer Or Cure? A Contemporary Review Of Affirmative Action In Jury Selection, Nancy J. King Jan 1993

Racial Jurymandering: Cancer Or Cure? A Contemporary Review Of Affirmative Action In Jury Selection, Nancy J. King

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Racial and ethnic minorities continue to be substantially underrepresented on criminal juries. At all stages of jury selection-venue choice, source list development, qualified list development, and jury panel and foreperson selection-traditional methods of selection exclude a disproportionate number of minorities. In response, a growing number of jurisdictions are employing race-conscious procedures to ensure that minorities are represented in juries and jury pools in proportions that equal or exceed their percentages in local communities. At the same time, the Supreme Court's most recent pronouncements on affirmative action and standing suggest that these reforms may be short-lived. Professor King suggests that the …