Reducing Jury Diversity: Strict Jury Exclusion of People with Criminal Records

Every state has some form of jury exclusion. The state laws bar people with criminal convictions (or pending charges) from serving on juries. There are two key factors: the types of convictions that trigger exclusion and how long the exclusion lasts. 

Ginger Jackson-Gleich, Policy Counsel at The Prison Policy Initiative (PPI), released a report in 2021 called Rigging the Jury. It examined the varying states’ jury exclusion laws. As it differs from state to state, 43 states prohibit anyone with a felony conviction from being on a jury, 21 states prohibit current and past felons from serving on a jury indefinitely, and 6 states indefinitely prohibit jury for current incarceration, all past felony convictions, and some past misdemeanors. 

 

The report found approximately 19 million Americans with felony convictions in 2010. Of the 19 million, 7 million were Black, which means about one in three Black men have a felony conviction. Even though the report does not have specific data for Latinx people, other studies show that Hispanic people are more likely to be incarcerated than non-Hispanic whites as they are overrepresented at numerous stages of the criminal justice process. The data is sparse because information about Latinx heritage has not always been collected or reported accurately within the criminal justice system.

 

In Texas, current incarceration, all past felony convictions, and some past demeanor convictions trigger exclusion from serving on a jury. Texas is one of the six states who have the strictest jury exclusion laws that ban these people from jury service forever.

 

This brings up a couple of arguments. First, the argument in courthouses is that minority defendants are deprived the promise of a “jury of their peers.” A lack of racial diversity in juries is partially caused by prohibiting people who have been convicted, or accused, of crimes from serving on juries. Therefore, it is argued that people’s protected right of a fair trial by jury under the Constitution is being harmed or violated. 

 

Second, studies have shown that diverse jurors in a trial foster curiosity. In one of her other studies, Jackson-Gleich showed when white members were a part of a racially mixed jury, they “raised more case facts, made fewer factual errors, and were not amenable to discussion of race-related issues.”

 

There is a possibility of change in this area of the justice system. California recently passed legislation that ends permanent jury duty exclusion for people with felony convictions. However, the reformation of jury exclusion laws to create more diverse juries is highly dependent on each state taking the initiative to change their legislation.