Question

What is the relationship between jury pools and racial prejudice?

Answer 1

Racial discrimination in jury selection has a long history in the United States. It is specifically prohibited by law, which has been defined through a series of judicial decisions.

However, juries composed solely of one racial group are legal in the United States. While the racial composition of juries is not dictated by law, racial discrimination in the selection of jurors (regardless of the jury's ultimate composition) is specifically prohibited. Depending on context, the phrases "all-white jury" or "all-black jury" can raise a host of expectations – among them, as MIT social neuroscientist Rebecca Saxe notes, the expectation that deliberations may be less than fair.