Date of Award
4-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Department
Political Science
First Advisor
Patrick Donnay
Abstract
The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment states that the defendant in the courtroom is meant to have a jury that is largely representative of the local community in which the trial is held. This raises the question of whether juries are representative of the population in which they reside. To analyze this question, I compare the demographics of the 87 counties in Minnesota gather and analyze data from the Minnesota Judicial Branch’s Committee of Equality and Justice (Wahi et al., 2021). The results show that there are discrepancies at each stage of the jury process. Additionally, they show that though the jury pools are somewhat representative of their population, the seated juries are typically not. The analysis raises more questions as to why these discrepancies occur, whether it be racially motivated elimination during the voir dire process or exemptions from jury duty due to disqualifications (e.g., language barriers, residency).
Recommended Citation
Weyker, Madison E., "Jury Representation: Are Minnesota Counties Ensuring a Jury of Your Peers?" (2023). Political Science Theses and Capstones. 16.
https://pines.bemidjistate.edu/capstone-polisci/16
