Question

Does scientific jury selection allow for a true representation of one’s peers? Do you see any problems with scientific jury selection?

Answer 1

Jury selection is a very specialized practice and raising effective juror challenges often requires sophisticated strategies. An experienced attorney can handle selecting a jury with assurance. While it isn't specifically stated anywhere in the Constitution, criminal defendants generally have the right to be tried by a jury of peers. You may be wondering what exactly that entails.Contrary to popular belief, defendants are not entitled to a jury containing members of their own race, gender, age, or sexual orientation.

The state puts together a jury of peers by first randomly selecting local citizens for the jury pool. The pool is then shaped during the jury selection phase of the trial. During jury selection, the judge, prosecution, and defense question each potential juror in order to determine whether there's anything in the juror's background that may prejudice their judgment in the case.

Some academic researchers argue that the efficacy of Scientific Jury selection is obscured by poor research methodology. Specifically, demographic characteristics used to predict juror attitudes and juror verdicts may not hold true across all types of cases. For example, men convict more frequently than women in some types of criminal trials but less frequently in others. Besides this, demographic characteristics are often less predictive than the attitudes jurors hold; for example, attitudes towards rape are better verdict-predictors than gender in rape trials.

While race and gender are off-limits, there are a few other traits that attorneys may use as the basis for challenging a potential juror. For example, attorneys may use a peremptory challenge on the basis of a juror's age. Some attorneys may feel that a juror who is either very young or elderly, for instance, may have a harder time keeping track of the details involved in a complex case.

In addition, courts have not yet deemed challenges based on a juror's sexual orientation unconstitutional. As a result, attorneys may be able to use peremptory challenges to remove a juror based on their sexual orientation. It should be noted, however, that this is a developing area of law.