Stratified Juror Selection: Cross-Section by Design

Abstract

Of the various selection methods that contribute to the underrepresentation of members of racial and ethnic minority groups on juries, peremptory challenges have attracted the most attention in recent years. Yet gains in diversity from regulating, or even eliminating, peremptory challenges are necessarily limited by the composition of the venire from which jurors are chosen. This article describes methods of constructing lists of veniremembers and qualified jurors used by some courts to restore the racial and ethnic diversity that is missing from the primary source lists or is eroded in the process of summoning and qualification. It also evaluates potential legal challenges to these techniques.