WWLTV: The Juror Project aims to bring diversity, fairness to criminal justice system
A growing number of people have been ignoring their jury summons and it’s raising a red flag for trial judges in criminal court.
In a 2023 poll, the National Judicial College found that 58% of trial judges polled said they’ve noticed several people ignoring their summonses. That sometimes can lead to a trial being put on hold.
A growing number of people have been ignoring their jury summons and it’s raising a red flag for trial judges in criminal court.
In a 2023 poll, the National Judicial College found that 58% of trial judges polled said they’ve noticed several people ignoring their summonses. That sometimes can lead to a trial being put on hold.
Strengthening Juries and Leading Reforms in New Orleans: An interview with Will Snowden
Will Snowden is the founder of the Juror Project and director of the New Orleans office of Vera Institute of Justice. Will spoke to Collab in Action about the Juror Project, a nonprofit that aims to increase the diversity of jury panels and change perspectives on jury duty through community education. Will also spoke about the focus of his current and upcoming work at Vera.
Will Snowden is the founder of the Juror Project and director of the New Orleans office of Vera Institute of Justice. Will spoke to Collab in Action about the Juror Project, a nonprofit that aims to increase the diversity of jury panels and change perspectives on jury duty through community education. Will also spoke about the focus of his current and upcoming work at Vera.
Meet Our Alumni: Will Snowden And The Power Of Our Civic Duties
We had the chance to sit down with Will Snowden, an alumni from Louisiana who graduated from Leaders of Color in 2020 to talk about criminal justice inequity in Louisiana.
Will is a criminal defense lawyer, jury duty nerd, and law professor at Loyola University New Orleans, College of Law. Will's legal career began as a public defender in New Orleans, LA, where he witnessed the discriminatory practices removing jurors from the jury panel and took his fight from the courtroom to the community and created The Juror Project.
We had the chance to sit down with Will Snowden, an alumni from Louisiana who graduated from Leaders of Color in 2020 to talk about criminal justice inequity in Louisiana.
Will is a criminal defense lawyer, jury duty nerd, and law professor at Loyola University New Orleans, College of Law. Will's legal career began as a public defender in New Orleans, LA, where he witnessed the discriminatory practices removing jurors from the jury panel and took his fight from the courtroom to the community and created The Juror Project.
Washington Post: Many juries in America remain mostly White, prompting states to take action to eliminate racial discrimination in their selection
As efforts to reform the criminal justice system at the federal level have largely stalled, state policymakers are opening a new front in the fight to reduce bias in the system by aiming to eliminate racial discrimination in jury selection.
As efforts to reform the criminal justice system at the federal level have largely stalled, state policymakers are opening a new front in the fight to reduce bias in the system by aiming to eliminate racial discrimination in jury selection.
ABA Journal: The Chauvin Conviction Shows Why Diverse Juries Matter
When it comes to convicting police officers, clear and convincing evidence is only half the battle. During former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s murder trial this spring, prosecutors told the jury repeatedly: “You can believe your eyes”—a reference to the brutal video showing Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes—“That it’s a homicide, it’s murder.”
When it comes to convicting police officers, clear and convincing evidence is only half the battle. During former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s murder trial this spring, prosecutors told the jury repeatedly: “You can believe your eyes”—a reference to the brutal video showing Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes—“That it’s a homicide, it’s murder.”
But evidence—visual, circumstantial, forensic—has historically been irrelevant when a police officer is on trial, with law enforcement often accorded the benefit of the doubt and acquitted. This sentiment was, in essence, codified by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1989’s Graham v. Connor, which held that an officer’s actions must be judged against what a reasonable officer would do in the same situation.