NCJ Number
153045
Journal
American Criminal Law Review Volume: 31 Issue: 4 Dated: (Summer 1994) Pages: 1177-1201
Date Published
1994
Length
25 pages
Annotation
The existence of group differences poses what is probably the most significant challenge for courts that assess the effects of race-conscious jury selection on public confidence in the fairness of the jury proceedings: the challenge of deciding when and why the perceptions of some may be more significant than the perceptions of others.
Abstract
Judges who moderate disputes between advocates and opponents of jury-selection practices that consider race will have to recognize those impressions and make choices about whose understandings should count most. Social science studies and public opinion polls can help a judge to understand how different groups may perceive selection procedures, so that the judge does not inadvertently overlook the perceptions of persons unlike himself. Ultimately, however, the questions judges must answer are not merely descriptive; they are also normative. When perceptions conflict, judges must decide whose trust is most essential to cultivate. Deliberation and principle, not simply statistics, are required for the task. 85 footnotes