Wrongful Conviction due to Lack of Jury Diversity

By Karina N

Abstract
Wrongful conviction is a common outcome from a jury pool not being diverse enough. The composition of a jury is crucial to what the verdict will be regardless of what kind of case is being dealt with. Factors like ethnicity, one's background and even prior juror experience is looked into when picking a jury pool. In most cases, jury pools are supposed to be composed of people from different backgrounds meaning that multiple races can and should be included though, challenges like peremptory challenges, the exclusion of a certain juror without a probable cause can stand in the way of picking a jury even if they do have prior experience that can be used to an advantage. If a jury pool is not as diverse as it should be, this creates a higher chance of racial bias to occur and impact the persuasion of the decision that comes out of a ruling. To address the issue of wrongful convictions due to lack of jury diversity, societal and legal reforms must be looked into to prevent the cases of wrongful conviction to further become higher or even resolve them after they are said and done. 

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   Wrongful conviction due to lack of jury diversity is one of the least common things that come to one's head when they imagine what is going on in a court case. The lack of awareness of it is why it is a frequent issue that continues to occur today. For example, connecting to a real world scenario would be what Confrontation on the Bridge by Jacob Lawrence depicts, the root causes of a serious situation are never truly looked into until it is too late and even in some cases, not looked into at all similarly like wrongful convictions. It is not common that people acknowledge the root cause of what the factors contributing to wrongful convictions are, like the lack of jury diversity which is why through legal and societal reforms is the most effective way to approach wrongful convictions due to lack of jury diversity regardless of how early on or late it is caught. 
    What goes on in a prosecution decision is mostly to all based on what the jurors have to say. A jurors job is to come to the most reasonable decision that will help the case that they are dealing with to the best of their ability to ensure equal outcomes. Though in most cases, bias can become a majoring factor whether it is from a juror with a certain religious belief or political belief. The decision all comes down to what the majority says even if it may not be the best decision. Bias in juror decision has been proven to play a significant role in the ruling of a case which can be tied to a wrong or, not as correct decision that can result in a wrongful decision depending on the case, even a conviction. 
    Peremptory challenges, the exclusion of a potential juror without a probable cause is a concerning issue that has no law prohibiting it as of right now. Due to there being no law that prevents peremptory challenges from being exercised, potential jurors that can be more than qualified are being denied from helping with a case. The impact of peremptory challenges can have a long lasting effect on the defendant when it may deal with a conviction and or sentencing. With a jury composed of a particular makeup, this creates the chances of an equal court case ruling from happening. If a jury is not diverse enough, then the chances of the case going fair and equal without a reopening is very low. The ruling of a case all comes down to what a jury has to say, what the jury has to say is a big part of a court case ruling, regardless of one's prior experience of being a juror or not, they can be denied without a reasonable cause at all times. 
    The rates of wrongful conviction due to lack of jury diversity continue to skyrocket. The main issue being that it has not been addressed and if i t has been addressed, that it is not being handled or dealt with properly. If this issue is addressed, the likelihood of wrongful convictions due to lack of jury diversity can easily be resolved. Though it may not be easy, efforts throughout the years have made the rates of wrongful convictions due to lack of jury diversity to essentially decrease with the timeline between a weeks, months, or even years. Rates only continue to increase if no action is taken towards stopping them from occurring, by addressing this issue, it will essentially lower the likelihood of wrongful convictions. 
    With that being said, the most effective solution to address wrongful convictions due to lack of jury diversity is legal and societal reforms which must be taken into account for. Societal reforms like the innocence project have worked towards exonerating cases of wrongful convictions simply because there has been nothing put into place to help. By enforcing laws that can make sure that evidence is looked over properly with the right people using their persuasion for a court case, this can ensure fair and equal treatments and odds for the defendant before they are wrongfully convicted if that is the case.