Ep. 32 - Making Jury Trials More Fair with Rhian Jones

The Constitution protects our right to an impartial jury. Still, the normal process of selecting a jury often lets attorneys' unconscious or conscious biases infect jury selection. If a juror’s biases are undetected or dismissed as something that can be set aside, they can inflect the verdict leading to wrongful convictions.

Biases are habits of thought or patterns of thinking that include preferences, inclinations, or just impressions. Biases can include cognitive shortcuts that can lead to wrong assumptions or errors in judgment. Judging a past event using what you know today is hindsight bias. Confirmation bias is only seeking information to confirm a prejudgment. All of these are impediments to a fair jury.

The stakes could not be higher for an innocent person accused of a crime. If a jury fills in gaps in the government’s proof with stereotypes, hunches, and vague bad feelings, then the 

In this episode, trial attorney Rhian Jones joins host Mary Whiteside to discuss the dangers of hidden biases on a jury and ideas to make jury selection better and fairer.

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Sources

Rhian Jones

• http://etksdefense.com/attorneys/rhian-jones/

Peremptory Challenges

• https://www.npr.org/2021/09/06/1034556234/arizonas-supreme-court-eliminates-peremptory-challenges 
• https://civiljuryproject.law.nyu.edu/understanding-bias-preserving-peremptory-challenges-preventing-their-discriminatory-use-and-providing-fairer-and-more-impartial-juries/ 

https://abovethelaw.com/2015/11/criminally-yours-dont-eliminate-peremptory-challenges/ Article on Willie Simmons: https://www.essence.com/news/willie-simmons-life-prison-alabama-habitual-offender/