"Illegal Racial Discrimination in Jury Selection: A Continuing Legacy" by the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) of Alabama has found disturbing evidence of discriminatory practices in the jury selection process. After examining the jury selection process in eight Southern states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee), EJI researchers discovered that many counties excluded almost 80% of African Americans eligible for jury service. In Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, for example, a state that requires only 10 of 12 jurors to convict in many cases, the high rate of exclusion means that "there is not effective black representation on the jury because only the votes of white jurors are necessary to convict." Read more...
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