Imbalanced Juries: Are We Part of the Problem?
This past Monday, I was summoned for jury duty.
I had been summoned before — three times, in fact — and each time I did not serve. Three times before, I had been in school, first for my Bachelor’s degree and then for my Master’s. In the eyes of the court, school responsibilities served as a valid excuse and I was taken off the cases with no trouble.
This past Monday, I was also excused.
I have a disability, which limits my mobility and also my ability to drive. Additionally, I live in an area where public transportation is limited and not within walking distance. As a result, whenever I do want to go somewhere, I have two choices: walk or rely on others to drive me.
The judge excused me on account that I expressed I would face financial hardship if I had to pay for Lyfts and Ubers for the duration of the trial.
I was the first person to ask to be excused and, once again, was taken off the case with no trouble.
After I was dismissed, I took a seat, and got a chance to watch the rest of the people in line attempt to be excused. I listened and observed as the judge excused an older gentleman with diabetes, two college students, and host of other people who asserted financial and familial obligations.
The people in line were all different. We were different ages, had a range of different abilities, and came from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds. By all accounts we were a diverse group.
At least half of us were excused.
And that was before the lawyers made their selections.
Those of us excused before selection were sent back to the waiting area, and over the next two hours, I watched as more and more people came back.
We need to narrow the jury down to eight people; the judge had said.
Eight people. Out of the, maybe thirty, that were summoned.
That’s a shocking number. The amount of people that were excused was shocking. The level of diversity, the variety of ages, ethnic and racial backgrounds, and life experiences that were excused, was shocking.
In the end, I was sent home, and have no idea who they picked or the outcome of the case.
But witnessing this process does make me wonder, is the lack of diversity on juries our fault?
In the current cultural and political climate of America, where innocent people like Philando Castile and Trayvon Martin are being killed simply for following their daily routines, are those of us who are asking to be excused from jury duty part of the problem?
To be honest, I don’t know. At the end of the day, it’s the lawyers who know their cases, and know what they do and don’t want in a juror. But I do know that when people try to get excused, they significantly limit the pool of choices, which significantly limits the diversity of choices.
And that’s not to say that the excuses people use aren’t valid. Disability, sickness, school, being unable to provide for your family if you miss work; those are all valid excuses.
But are those excuses more valuable than the lives we’ve lost or could potentially lose?
I hope not.
I hope that we would have enough empathy and care for each other that these systems could change. That eventually we would all choose to serve.
Before this process began, the judge asserted that the reason for it was to create an impartial jury.
To be honest, I don’t know if that’s possible. With all of our backgrounds and experiences, feelings, and thoughts, we all have a stake in something. We all have a stake, all of the time, even if we try to convince ourselves otherwise.
But watching this process will definitely make me think twice about trying to get excused again.
