Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Institution
- Publication
- Publication Type
Articles 1 - 10 of 10
Full-Text Articles in Law
Awakening The American Jury: Did The Killing Of George Floyd Alter Juror Deliberations Forever?, Tamara F. Lawson
Awakening The American Jury: Did The Killing Of George Floyd Alter Juror Deliberations Forever?, Tamara F. Lawson
Articles
In the summer of 2020, the witnessing of George Floyd's death triggered an outpouring of public expression far beyond other cases in modern times. While the experience led some to advocate for reform and participate in antiracism rallies, marches, and campaigns, it also forced many others into internal reflection, awareness, and awakening to the knowledge of a lived experience with police different from their own. The gruesome realities of the video were irreconcilable with those prior beliefs and did not comport with any moral or legal standards of dignity. Prior to witnessing George Floyd's death on video at the hands …
An Analysis Of The Legal And Practical Implications Of The Potential Increased Participation In Jury Service By Racial Minorities In The U.S. Criminal Justice System, Brian Keith Leonard
An Analysis Of The Legal And Practical Implications Of The Potential Increased Participation In Jury Service By Racial Minorities In The U.S. Criminal Justice System, Brian Keith Leonard
West Virginia Law Review
No abstract provided.
Race And Recalcitrance: The Miller-El Remands, Sheri Johnson
Race And Recalcitrance: The Miller-El Remands, Sheri Johnson
Sheri Lynn Johnson
In Batson v. Kentucky, the Supreme Court held that a prosecutor may not peremptorily challenge a juror based upon his or her race. Although Baston was decided more than twenty years ago, some lower courts still resist its command. Three recent cases provide particularly egregious examples of that resistance. The Fifth Circuit refused the Supreme Court's instruction in Miller-El v. Cockrell, necessitating a second grant of certiorari in Miller-El v. Dretke. The court then reversed and remanded four lower court cases for reconsideration in light of Miller-El, but in two cases the lower courts have thus …
Language Disenfranchisement In Juries: A Call For Constitutional Remediation, Jasmine Gonzales Rose
Language Disenfranchisement In Juries: A Call For Constitutional Remediation, Jasmine Gonzales Rose
Faculty Scholarship
Approximately thirteen million U.S. citizens, mostly Latinos and other people of color, are denied the right to serve on juries due to English language requirements and despite the possibility (and centuries-old tradition) of juror language accommodation. This exclusion results in the underrepresentation of racial minorities on juries and has a detrimental impact on criminal defendants, the perceived legitimacy of the justice system, and citizen participation in democracy. Yet, it has been virtually ignored. This Article examines the constitutionality of juror language requirements, focusing primarily on equal protection and the fair cross section requirement of the Sixth Amendment. Finding the existing …
Performing Discretion Or Performing Discrimination: Race, Ritual, And Peremptory Challenges In Capital Jury Selection, Melynda J. Price
Performing Discretion Or Performing Discrimination: Race, Ritual, And Peremptory Challenges In Capital Jury Selection, Melynda J. Price
Michigan Journal of Race and Law
Research shows the mere presence of Blacks on capital juries-- on the rare occasions they are seated--can mean the difference between life and death. Peremptory challenges are the primary method to remove these pivotal participants. Batson v. Kentucky developed hearings as an immediate remedy for the unconstitutional removal of jurors through racially motivated peremptory challenges. These proceedings have become rituals that sanction continued bias in the jury selection process and ultimately affect the outcome of capital trials. This Article deconstructs the role of the Batson ritual in legitimating the removal of African American jurors. These perfunctory hearings fail to meaningfully …
Race And Recalcitrance: The Miller-El Remands, Sheri Johnson
Race And Recalcitrance: The Miller-El Remands, Sheri Johnson
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
In Batson v. Kentucky, the Supreme Court held that a prosecutor may not peremptorily challenge a juror based upon his or her race. Although Baston was decided more than twenty years ago, some lower courts still resist its command. Three recent cases provide particularly egregious examples of that resistance. The Fifth Circuit refused the Supreme Court's instruction in Miller-El v. Cockrell, necessitating a second grant of certiorari in Miller-El v. Dretke. The court then reversed and remanded four lower court cases for reconsideration in light of Miller-El, but in two cases the lower courts have thus …
The Future Of The Post-Batson Peremptory Challenge: Voir Dire By Questionnaire And The "Blind" Peremptory, Jean Montoya
The Future Of The Post-Batson Peremptory Challenge: Voir Dire By Questionnaire And The "Blind" Peremptory, Jean Montoya
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Article examines the peremptory challenge as modified by Batson and its progeny. The discussion is based in part on a survey of trial lawyers, asking them about their impressions of the peremptory challenge, Batson, and jury selection generally. The Article concludes that neither the peremptory challenge nor Batson achieve their full potential. Primarily because of time and other constraints on voir dire, the peremptory challenge falls short as a tool in shaping fair and impartial juries. While Batson may prevent some unlawful discrimination in jury selection, Batson falls short as a tool in identifying unlawful discrimination once it …
Postconviction Review Of Jury Discrimination: Measuring The Effects Of Juror Race On Jury Decisions, Nancy J. King
Postconviction Review Of Jury Discrimination: Measuring The Effects Of Juror Race On Jury Decisions, Nancy J. King
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
As the Court has expanded its definition of jury selection techniques that violate constitutional standards, it has narrowed the circumstances that entitle defendants to postconviction relief. These two developments are now colliding; the emerging law is uncertain. One trend, however, is plain: divisions over the utility and propriety of applying harmless error, prejudice, and innocence standards to jury discrimination claims are deepening. By carefully evaluating the validity of some these disputes, I hope to have made remedial choices more informed and more attainable.
Constitutional Law-Exclusion From Juries On Grounds Of Race And Color-Scottsboro Case
Constitutional Law-Exclusion From Juries On Grounds Of Race And Color-Scottsboro Case
Michigan Law Review
A negro convicted of rape in one of the so-called "Scottsboro" cases moved to quash the indictment and the trial venire, alleging systematic exclusion of negroes from the grand and petit juries on the grounds of race and color. The trial court overruled the motions, and the Alabama Supreme Court sustained this decision, holding that the evidence failed to establish such exclusion. On certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, held, that the refusal to quash the indictment and trial venire was a denial of equal protection of the laws contrary to the Fourteenth Amendment, since the evidence on …