Author Archives: John Gastil
Meet the jurors in the trial of Derek Chauvin
It is fitting that the most anticipated jury trial in years includes profiles of the individual jurors. This is highly unusual, since the media tend to leave the jurors alone until the conclusion of a trial. In this case, however, … Continue reading
Ethnic bias in voir dire: More evidence of a widespread problem
A recent L.A. Times story picked up a preliminary report from U.C. Berkeley on who gets excluded from juries during voir dire in California. Here’s a quick summary: The report examined, among other things, nearly 700 cases decided by the … Continue reading
Juries and social distancing
There are a string of recent essays and articles on how courthouses and trying to cope with social distancing rules when it comes to seating juries. A recent New York Times article provides the most comprehensive analysis. Meanwhile, ABA Journal … Continue reading
Roger Stone jurors continue to be intimidated, even long after trial concludes
I posted an earlier note on this site about what a frightening norm-violation it was when President Trump tweeted about the jurors serving in the trial of Roger Stone. Now, those jurors have provided testimony that underscores just have grave … Continue reading
When Presidents attack…
In The Jury and Democracy, we noted that although juries had high approval ratings in general, conservative political attacks on the civil jury had done damage to the reputation of such bodies. Now a sitting U.S. President has attacked the … Continue reading
Juries and board games: A match made in nerd heaven
For so many reasons, we here at the Jury and Democracy blog are delighted by a story from today’s Raleigh (NC) News and Observer. In a nutshell, a jury asked a judge to buy it board games, and the judge … Continue reading
Suing to protect jurors’ right to serve
This lawsuit is a great example of advocacy for the rights of citizens to be considered for jury service. In an article for The Appeal, Kira Lerner explained: Mississippi District Attorney Doug Evans was hit with a proposed class action … Continue reading
Jury system continues to advance in Argentina
Argentina had a funny provision in its constitution, which enabled Congress to establish a jury system. It chose not to, but that provision lingered and eventually inspired legal reformers to champion the jury system as a means of bolstering democracy … Continue reading
In the age of Trump, a sign that jurors can still set politics aside
Many people probably wondered whether the jurors in the Manafort trial would be able to set aside any question of how a verdict might affect Special Prosectuor Robert Mueller’s investigation. There was relatively little discussion of this, but all it … Continue reading
How Jury Service Influences Attitudes toward the Court System
Written by Jimin Pyo, a doctoral student in the Department of Criminal Justice at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY. [Today’s post comes from a guest scholar, who has a new publication. We encourage anyone with research relevant … Continue reading
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