Doctoral Dissertation Research: (De)Legitimizing the Jury? An Empirical Analysis of Felon Jury Exclusion

University Of California-Irvine, Irvine CA

Investigators

Abstract

Forty-nine states, the federal government, and the District of Columbia restrict a convicted felon's opportunity to serve as a juror. Of those jurisdictions, twenty-nine ban convicted felons from jury service permanently, eliminating approximately thirteen million citizens from the national jury pool. Justifying these statutory exclusions, policymakers and courts cite a need to protect the jury process from those who might compromise its integrity. Yet, to date, no study has examined how convicted felons impact the adjudicative process or are impacted by their inclusion in that process. Using a mixed methods approach, this project explores these interrelated themes by 1) examining how felon jurors shape jury systems (in the field and in the laboratory), and 2) analyzing the influence of jury service on convicted felons' perceptions of the law and, in turn, their subsequent reentry. The reintegration of convicted felons and their participation in democratic processes often inspires polarized debate. This project will expand and inform that debate, filling voids in existing empirical research on the adjudicative process and the reintegration of former offenders. It will also extend research on legal compliance as a function of the perceived legitimacy and fairness of the law. In these ways, this project speaks to policy, practice, and theory as they relate to the jury process, reentry, and the tenets of participatory democracy.