Abstract

Excerpted From: Kelley O'Donnell, Who's on Your Jury? International Attempts at Increasing Impartiality and Decreasing Racial Bias in Jury Selection, 48 Suffolk Transnational Law Review 106 (2025) (112 Footnotes) (Full Document Requested)

Contrary to the enumerated rights of the Sixth Amendment, not all criminal defendants receive their right to a trial by “an impartial jury.” Pervasive racial discrimination and underrepresentation in jury selection continues to fester throughout the United States' judicial process. These themes not only impact the rights and interests of criminal defendants but also undermine the interests of minorities in the United States who partake in jury service. Our country does not stand alone in this respect, however, as racial discrimination and underrepresentation is a global legal challenge. While progress has been made, through both Congress and the courts, these issues remain, needing further adjustments from the legal community.

This Note will explore racial bias and underrepresentation in jury selection throughout the United States' history, particularly so in the context of Black Americans, and present potential remedies based on successful state and foreign legislative and judicial solutions. Part II will discuss the creation and development of trial juries in the United States, Australia, and Scotland and the underrepresentation in each system. Part III will detail and compare judicial and legislative reformations made by the United States, Australia, and Scotland to improve jury representation. Part IV will propose a comprehensive plan for the United States to eliminate the issue of racial discrimination in jury selection and increase overall racial representation in U.S. juries. Part V concludes that the United States must adopt an action plan to ensure permanent change in the racial representation of juries occurs.

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Whether intentional or incidental, racial underrepresentation in jury pools and jury panels remains a prevalent concern throughout the United States. Underrepresentation impacts the integrity of the jury trial process, infringes on a criminal defendant's right to a fair and impartial trial, and invades potential jurors' right to participate free from racial discrimination. The multifactor causes of this underrepresentation are narrow summons procedures, inadequate juror compensation, and discrimination and bias in the courtroom. Remedy attempts in the United States have continuously failed to correct the underrepresentation. To combat these inefficiencies the jury summons procedure must adapt and juror compensation must increase to combat these inefficiencies by including a more fair representation of the community in jury pools and panels. Additionally, the jury empanelment process must eliminate peremptory strikes and limit voir dires to reduce discrimination and bias in the courtroom.