Citation

Denver M. Crim. Justice Rev. 2011; 36(2): 183-200.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Georgia State University Public and Urban Affairs, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0734016810384443

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to determine whether race (a juror's race, racial composition of the jury, race of the jury foreperson, and defendant--victim racial composition) and perceptions of procedural justice affect capital jurors' willingness to serve again. Using logistic regression, data from 662 capital jurors are analyzed. A direct test of procedural justice theory is not supported by these findings; however, feeling emotionally upset about the experience is strongly associated with unwillingness to serve again. In addition, those who served on a White defendant--Black victim case were more likely to report future willingness to serve compared to jurors on White-- White cases. When the regression model is divided into subsamples (White jurors only and Black jurors only), feeling emotionally upset is still a strong indicator for both groups, and both Black and White jurors are less willing to serve again when the victim in their case was White. In addition, part-time employment was a significant indicator of unwillingness to serve again for Black jurors. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.