Alameda Jury Pools Don’t Reflect The Ethnic Balance of the Population According to ACLU Study
In any personal injury case, the composition of the jury is extremely important. Even if the case can be settled, that settlement will be largely based on what the lawyers think a jury might decide, if the case went to trial. For Oakland injury accident cases, any jury trial will likely be in Alameda County Superior Court. An ACLU study showed that while African Americans represent 18% of the population in Alameda County, they represent only about 8% of the jurors. Thus, jury pools for Alameda County accident cases have less than half the amount of African Americans than they should. Hispanics also were underrepresented in jury pools, by a factor of 4%. Asian Americans were actually over represented in Alameda juries. What’s the cause of these disparities? The ACLU study blamed outdated jury pool software, and Alameda County’s poor follow up on jurors who fail to appear.
A Diverse Jury Is More Likely To Help Overcome Prejudice
Having other members of the same ethnic community on the jury is likely to help overcome any prejudice that others may have. But even for plaintiffs in injury cases who are not African American or Hispanic, this is a negative trend. Typically, jurors of various ethnicities tend to be more favorable in cases that involve placing a value on human suffering. This is one of the reasons that trial lawyers prefer to have injury cases case come to trial in an urban area, rather than a suburban or rural area.
Trial lawyers Are Not Allowed To Reject Jurors Based Upon Race or Ethnicity.
As a personal injury attorney in the Bay Area, I’ve observed numerous cases with successful appeals based upon findings that a lawyer struck a juror due to his or her race or ethnicity. But if the jury pool has not been managed properly, so that it reflects the diversity of the community, members of some groups are unfairly restricted before we even get a chance to select a jury. For these reasons, it is in the best interests of anyone with an injury case in court to have an ethnically diverse jury pool.
Contact Our Bay Area Personal Injury Attorneys For a Free Consultation About Your Case
Contact Callaway & Wolf for a free consultation about your injury case. Our injury attorneys have practiced together in the Bay Area for more than 20 years and are experienced handling accident injury cases in Oakland, San Francisco, San Mateo, and around the San Francisco Bay Area.
Boone Callaway is a personal injury & medical malpractice lawyer in San Francisco who has been working with clients in the Bay Area for over 25 years. Mr. Callaway is one of only a few personal injury litigators in San Francisco who is a Super Lawyer, AV Rated and is also a member of ABOTA – American Board of Trial Advocates.
