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Description: This study examined the representativeness of juries in Montgomery County, TX. The purpose of this study was to identify whether the venire was representative of the community and whether juries were representative of both the venire and the community. The participants in this study consisted of residents of Montgomery County. Demographic information was obtained through an official jury questionnaire designed by the courts and completed when prospective jurors answered the summons. Hispanics were significantly under-represented both in venires and in petit juries relative to their proportion in the county, but it is not clear what proportion of Hispanics are actually eligible for jury service. A binary logistic regression was conducted in order to determine which variables had an impact on jury selection. It was found that females were more likely to be selected as were prospective jurors who had no prior involvement with civil lawsuits.
Suggested Citation:
Sarver III, Robert A., & Lyons, Phillip M (2010). Representativeness of petit juries [Electronic Version]. Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice,
6(2), 91-103.
Keywords: jury representativeness, race, jury summons, jury selection
Date: Dec 03, 2010 | File Size: 321.19 Kb | Downloads: 1781