MSNBC: Jury System on Trial
Juries hold tremendous power in our legal system. They determine who lives, who dies, and who goes free. The right to a jury of our peers is enshrined in the Constitution, guaranteeing us all the right to a “speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury.” And yet, juries in America remain overwhelmingly white, even in cases with Black victims and defendants. The Equal Justice Initiative found that white juries spend less time deliberating outcomes, consider fewer perspectives, and ultimately, make more errors.
Juries hold tremendous power in our legal system. They determine who lives, who dies, and who goes free. The right to a jury of our peers is enshrined in the Constitution, guaranteeing us all the right to a “speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury.” And yet, juries in America remain overwhelmingly white, even in cases with Black victims and defendants. The Equal Justice Initiative found that white juries spend less time deliberating outcomes, consider fewer perspectives, and ultimately, make more errors.
A Peace of My Mind: Will Snowden
Will Snowden received his law degree from Seton Hall Law School in New Jersey and worked as a public defender in New Orleans. Through his work in the justice system, he became concerned with weaknesses in our jury system that led to a lack of diversity in jury members and ultimately, unjust outcomes.
In response, Will established The Juror Project, whose mission is “to change the makeup of juries to better represent the American population and the communities most commonly accused. We pursue this through community and public education about jury eligibility and the jury selection process and the power jurors hold in America’s high stakes criminal justice system.”
Will Snowden received his law degree from Seton Hall Law School in New Jersey and worked as a public defender in New Orleans. Through his work in the justice system, he became concerned with weaknesses in our jury system that led to a lack of diversity in jury members and ultimately, unjust outcomes.
In response, Will established The Juror Project, whose mission is “to change the makeup of juries to better represent the American population and the communities most commonly accused. We pursue this through community and public education about jury eligibility and the jury selection process and the power jurors hold in America’s high stakes criminal justice system.”
Nola.com: Here's how federal court in New Orleans aims to address shortage of Black jurors. Is it enough?
Faced with data showing that federal jury pools in the New Orleans area steeply underrepresent its Black population, the judges of the Eastern District of Louisiana last month changed their rules for gathering those names for the first time in seven years.
Faced with data showing that federal jury pools in the New Orleans area steeply underrepresent its Black population, the judges of the Eastern District of Louisiana last month changed their rules for gathering those names for the first time in seven years.
The court dispensed with its reliance on voter registration data as the only source for its juror lists. The new rules allow the clerk to pull names from driver’s license records as well. Another change calls for swapping out the court's master jury wheel every two years, rather than four. The wheel is a grouping of 60,000 people from the district that the clerk has deemed qualified to serve on a jury.
Law360: After Win, Those Fighting Divided Verdicts Eye Next Chapter
When the U.S. Supreme Court decided on April 20 to overrule a 40-year-old precedent and declare nonunanimous jury verdicts in criminal cases to be unconstitutional, it was a feast for many legal observers.
They focused on the multiple opinions penned by the justices, the different ways justices handled the thorny legal history of the issue and the implications for the court's approach to overruling precedent.
But for advocates in Louisiana and Oregon, the only two states to allow nonunanimous convictions in recent decades, the focus was on the impact the ruling could have on convicted people in their states.
When the U.S. Supreme Court decided on April 20 to overrule a 40-year-old precedent and declare nonunanimous jury verdicts in criminal cases to be unconstitutional, it was a feast for many legal observers.
They focused on the multiple opinions penned by the justices, the different ways justices handled the thorny legal history of the issue and the implications for the court's approach to overruling precedent.
But for advocates in Louisiana and Oregon, the only two states to allow nonunanimous convictions in recent decades, the focus was on the impact the ruling could have on convicted people in their states.
KSLA: Community gathers on day marking 10 years since last execution in Louisiana
Tuesday, Jan. 7 marks ten years since the last execution in Louisiana.
Church leaders and advocates will gathered Tuesday at the capitol to discuss the topic with the hopes to abolish the policy.
Tuesday, Jan. 7 marks ten years since the last execution in Louisiana.
Church leaders and advocates will gathered Tuesday at the capitol to discuss the topic with the hopes to abolish the policy.