Malcolm Rivera
The Sixth Amendment, bolstered by key Supreme Court decisions, continues to shape the American judicial landscape. These legal standards and interpretations help preserve the right to an impartial jury, reinforcing the overall fairness and integrity of the criminal justice system. The Fourteenth Amendment extends the protections of the Sixth Amendment to state courts through the doctrine of incorporation. This means state-level criminal defendants are entitled to the same rights to an impartial jury and a fair trial as those in federal courts. If a court officer’s selection of jurors for a jury array results in the systematic exclusion of a constitutionally protected class of persons, a defendant may challenge the jury array.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Economic | N/A |
| Social | N/A |
| Religious | N/A |
| Racial | African-Americans, Mexican-Americans |
| Political | N/A |
| Geographic | N/A |
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What You'll Learn
Racial and ethnic bias
The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to an impartial jury, and the Fourteenth Amendment extends this right to state courts. Racial and ethnic bias in jury selection undermines the fundamental premise of the jury system: to provide fair and impartial justice.
The Court has reasoned that allowing ethnic bias to infect jury deliberations violates the defendant's constitutional right to a trial by an impartial jury. Constitutionally protected classes include African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and women. Jurors may not be excluded from the jury array based on their economic, social, religious, racial, political, or geographic group.
Defendants may challenge a jury array if a constitutionally protected class is underrepresented on voter registration lists. The voter registration lists must represent a cross-section of the population in order for them to be used for the jury array. If the voter registration lists contain a disproportionately low number of persons from a constitutionally protected class, the lists are deemed to be discriminatory.
Even if the defendant is not a member of a constitutionally protected class, they may still challenge their jury array because they are entitled to a representative cross-section of their community in their jury. A defendant may further challenge a jury array if exemptions that were granted to potential jurors were discriminatory. For example, if the exemptions were applied in order to exclude certain groups or constitutionally protected classes. The defendant has the burden of proving that the exemptions were unreasonable.
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Economic, social, religious, political or geographic group
The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to an impartial jury, and the Fourteenth Amendment extends this right to state courts. If a court officer's selection of jurors for a jury array results in the systematic exclusion of a constitutionally protected class of persons, a defendant may challenge the jury array.
Jurors may not be excluded from the jury array based on their economic, social, religious, political, or geographic group. Constitutionally protected classes with these groups include African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and women.
Even if the defendant is not a member of a constitutionally protected class, they may challenge their jury array because they are entitled to a representative cross-section of their community in their jury. The voter registration lists must represent a cross-section of the population in order for them to be used for the jury array. If the voter registration lists contain a disproportionately low number of persons from a constitutionally protected class, the lists are deemed to be discriminatory.
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African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and women
In the US, constitutionally protected classes for jury selection include African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and women. This means that jurors may not be excluded from the jury array based on their economic, social, religious, racial, political, or geographic group.
If a court officer’s selection of jurors for a jury array results in the systematic exclusion of a constitutionally protected class of persons, a defendant may challenge the jury array. This is because the defendant is entitled to a representative cross-section of their community in their jury. The Fourteenth Amendment extends the protections of the Sixth Amendment to state courts through the doctrine of incorporation. This means state-level criminal defendants are entitled to the same rights to an impartial jury and a fair trial as those in federal courts.
The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to an impartial jury, but it does not explicitly require unanimity in jury verdicts. However, recent Supreme Court decisions, such as Ramos v. Louisiana (2020), have mandated unanimous verdicts in state criminal trials, strengthening the Sixth Amendment's protections.
A defendant may also challenge a jury array if a constitutionally protected class is underrepresented on voter registration lists. If the voter registration lists contain a disproportionately low number of persons from a constitutionally protected class, the lists are deemed to be discriminatory. However, the defendant must prove that there was actual discrimination in the voter registration process.
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Voter registration lists
The defendant must prove that there was actual discrimination in the voter registration process. They can do this by filing a motion to quash the jury array. Courts will use other sources in addition to voter lists, such as lists of licensed drivers in the district, if the voter lists alone fail to provide a representative cross-section of the relevant community.
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Exemptions granted to potential jurors
Constitutionally protected classes include African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and women. These groups cannot be excluded from the jury array based on their economic, social, religious, racial, political, or geographic group.
The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to an impartial jury, and this is extended to state courts through the Fourteenth Amendment. The right to an impartial jury is fundamental to the premise of the jury system: to provide fair and impartial justice.
Voter registration lists must represent a cross-section of the population in order for them to be used for the jury array. If a constitutionally protected class is underrepresented on these lists, they are deemed to be discriminatory.
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Frequently asked questions
Constitutionally protected classes for jury selection include African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and women.
If a constitutionally protected class is underrepresented on voter registration lists, the lists are deemed to be discriminatory. A defendant may challenge a jury array on these grounds.
The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to an impartial jury. The Fourteenth Amendment extends the protections of the Sixth Amendment to state courts.
