Between Life and Death: How Death Disqualification Shapes Capital Juror Selection

• In Event: Area XII. Diversity and Inclusion - courts

Abstract

Prospective jurors in capital cases undergo a distinctive voir dire process to determine whether they are “death qualified,” meaning that they would be willing to vote for capital punishment if relevant legal criteria are met. Under U.S. Supreme Court case law, prospective jurors can be removed for cause if they are so opposed to capital punishment that they could never vote for death regardless of the law and evidence. This death disqualification process threatens the racial representativeness of juries because death penalty opposition is more prevalent among people of color. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the influence of the death disqualification on the exclusion of prospective jurors by race and the final composition of the impaneled jury. Data coded from death penalty trial transcripts in Duval County, Florida suggest that death disqualification has racially disproportionate effects. Death disqualification is a barrier to jury service by people of color and undermines the representativeness of capital juries.

Authors

• Geldy Nunez, University of Central Florida

• Jacinta Gau, University of Central Florida