Fairness on Trial—Exploring the Power of Diverse Juries

Please join us at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, November 14, for “Fairness on Trial—Exploring the Power of Diverse Juries.” Marquette Law School’s Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education, in collaboration with Common Ground, is pleased to highlight this important topic.

American juries are often less diverse than the communities from which they are picked. In many criminal cases, defendants of color may well wonder if a jury of their peers is indeed judging them fairly. Diverse juries can help reassure litigants of the fairness of the justice system. Additionally, research suggests that diverse juries deliberate more carefully, make fewer factual errors, and are more motivated to avoid bias than non-diverse juries.

In this program, we will examine some of the reasons why juries may fail to reflect their communities and explore possible reforms that could increase representativeness. The program will include a 22-minute documentary, Judging Juries, which describes the problem and recent reforms in San Francisco. View the trailer here. The program will also feature a brief presentation from Professor Ronald Wright of Wake Forest Law School, who has researched jury diversity in North Carolina and other Southern states, as well as information on jury diversity in Milwaukee and Wisconsin. The program will conclude with a moderated panel discussion.

The documentary will be shown promptly at 11:30 a.m. The program will begin at noon and conclude by 1:00 p.m. in Eckstein Hall.  A light lunch will be available.