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Federal Grand Juries - How True a 'Cross Section of the Community'

NCJ Number
87073
Journal
Justice System Journal Volume: 7 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1982) Pages: 257-277
Author(s)
R A Carp
Date Published
1982
Length
21 pages
Annotation
A demographic profile of persons who were called for grand jury service in an urban American federal court Division between 1972 and 1978 is compared with updated census figures for this same Division.
Abstract
The conclusion is that grand (and petit) jurors do not constitute an adequate cross section of the community from which they come. Systematically underrepresented groups include females, racial minorities, those with less education, younger persons, and those with low status occupations. The author offers several practical suggestions which, if adopted, could help the courts to obtain juries that comprise a better cross section of the citizenry. (Author abstract)

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