Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2011

Source Publication

Justice System Journal

Abstract

African-Americans are overrepresented in felony convictions and, thus, more likely to be excluded from jury service. This study examines the potential impact of felon jury exclusion on the proportion of African-Americans that remain eligible for jury service. Results indicate that felon jury exclusion dramatically reduces the pool of eligible African-Americans statewide by nearly one-third. Furthermore, the level of exclusion for all groups is concentrated in areas with higher African-American populations. When limiting the analysis to African-Americans, however, counties with low African-American populations tend to have the highest levels of African-American exclusion. OLS regression models support the notion that the concentration of African-Americans at the county level is a significant factor in all three model specifications. The nature of this relationship, however, changes dramatically across the models.

Comments

Published version. Justice System Journal, Vol. 32, No. 3 (2011): 335-359. Publisher URL: http://www.ncsconline.org/d_comm/Services/Submissions/JSJ1.htm. ©2011 Natural Center for State Courts. Used with permission.