The Juror Project aims to bring diversity, fairness to criminal justice system
“If we want our system to work, there's an opportunity and role for us to be involved,” Snowden said.
A growing number of people have been ignoring their jury summons and it’s raising a red flag for trial judges in criminal court.
In a 2023 poll, the National Judicial College found that 58% of trial judges polled said they’ve noticed several people ignoring their summonses. That sometimes can lead to a trial being put on hold.
The reasons can vary. Some cite a lack of childcare while others note the time it takes to sit in the jury box takes away from the time on the job. While some consider jury duty simply a waste of time.
How the Juror Project started
The Juror Project is working to change that narrative by teaching residents about their rights as jurors and why carrying out their civic duty could lead to more fair verdicts.
Jon're Taylor's first time as a juror was on a case based out of Baton Rouge. Thedrick Edwards was arrested for a series of rapes, kidnappings, and armed robberies in 2006. While everyone voted to convict Edwards, Jon’re was the lone dissenting juror and the only Black woman in the jury box.
“I've always understood the fact that you're supposed to be charged or judged by a jury of your peers,” says Taylor. “At the time, I think I was about 25 or 26 so closest in age to him but everyone else on the jury was older, middle-aged, white people. They all were of the assumption that he did it, we're just going to go ahead and vote guilty so we can get out of here within 30 minutes of us going back there and I feel like it wasn't enough evidence to convict him of those things.”
The interaction inside the jury deliberation room left Jon’re with a sour taste of the juror experience.
“I feel like I was dismissed,” says Taylor. “I am traumatized. I don't want to experience it again. I don't feel like I did civic service. They say your voice is supposed to be heard. But I feel like I was silenced.”
Jon're isn’t alone. A lot of people think serving on a jury is a waste of time.
Situations like Jon’re’s are the reason Will Snowden started the Juror project. To not only shift the narrative but to make sure juries accurately represent a jury of their “peers.” He says a diverse jury brings a diverse perspective.
“We talked about increasing the diversity of people's ages, perspectives, experience, and gender because the Social Science Research tells us that when you have more diversity, you actually can facilitate and establish more fair juries.”
Lack of diversity Finding power in the jury room
It's a problem that brought Snowden to New Orleans as a public defender in the first place.
“I ultimately came to New Orleans because it is the incarceration capital of the world, simply put, we're locking up too many black people,” says Snowden. “I quickly came to understand that that lack of diversity was contributing to our lack of fairness.”
Will says that lack of fairness can sometimes lead to wrongful convictions and lengthy sentences.
In their 2022 annual report, the National Registry of Exonerations, again, listed Louisiana with one of the highest rates of exonerations per capita in the country. Louisiana was led by Illinois, Michigan, and Texas. In 2012, Orleans Parish and Jefferson Parish were among the top ten leading in wrongful convictions per capita.
Will says during his time in the courtroom he noticed how diversity was purposefully being removed from our jury panels. “The first was the practice of not allowing people with felony convictions to serve on a jury. Thankfully, now that law has changed,” says Snowden. “We use voter registration lists and DMV records. What our research has shown is that when we only use those two lists, we are effectively excluding 35% of people who otherwise would be eligible to sit on juries.”
Snowden says the “voir dire” process which is the conversation between a lawyer and potential jurors was also an eliminating factor after he witnessed prosecutors ask questions about situations largely experienced by Black people including having negative interactions with police.
“The prosecutors would use the sharing of those bad experiences to kick folks off of the jury,” says Snowden.
There’s also the mindset of the headache jury duty brings. It’s one Judge Robin Pittman of Orleans Criminal District Court can’t understand. Pittman spoke before the New Orleans City Council on the matter after a period of people not responding to summonses.
“The wheels of criminal justice can't turn as it's supposed to. Without prospective jurors, there was a point in time when hundreds of people just weren't responding to the jury summons each month, leaving us with less than 50 jurors, some months,” says Pittman. “It got to a point where cases were having to be reset because individuals were not showing up.”
Financial capability is also another part of potential jurors’ hesitancy to respond to summons.
On the Orleans Criminal District Court website, it lists jurors as only being paid $10 per day and that’s only if you're chosen to serve on a jury trial that requires a verdict.
“The jurors that were of my same background and characteristics were very concerned about missing days of work and not being able to pay their bills,” says Taylor.
Will hopes the call to action will lead to change within the criminal justice system. One that he says has been plagued with injustices. Making those who sit in the jury box that much more integral.
“There's a ton of power in that jury deliberation room we shouldn't just be necessarily callously disregarding it,” says Snowden. “If we want our system to work, there's an opportunity and role for us to be involved.”
You can learn more about the Juror Project by visiting the website TheJurorProject.org.
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