implicit bias tomake jurors aware of how unconscious beliefs can play a role in decision making(Royer, Hido and Slotnick, n.d)1as being aware of subconscious bias may motivate them to be impartial.3) Creating diverse juriesThere should beefforts to create diverse juries, meaning there should be people of variousethnicities, religions and social backgrounds. This is because the more jurorsare aware of race, religion or ethnicity being an important part of the case,the more they want to appear unbiased and this may result in a fairer and moreimpartial trial. (Royer, Hidoand Slotnick, n.
d)2 For instance, the presence of nonwhites on a jury allows for more diverseperspectives to be taken into account, and also increases awareness ofrace-related concerns among the jury so that a more thorough, objective and factuallyaccurate discussion of the evidence is encouraged. (Elek and Hannaford-Agor, 2014) 3 4) Challenge for Cause andPeremptory StrikesThe previouslymentioned methods describe how implicit bias may be detected or reduced. Now wecome to the issue of removing jurors who have displayed implicitly biasedbehaviors. Jurors who demonstrate bias may be removed from the jury pool byattorneys in two ways: challenge for cause and peremptory strikes.
(Lehmannand Smith, 2013)4 Achallenge is a request to remove a person from the jury, and if this request is based on aspecific reason, it is called a challengefor cause. (Criminal.lawyers.
com, n.d.) 5This reason may be because the juror has displayed qualities of prejudice andan inability to be impartial. Once the issue is detected, the challenge is thendebated amongst the attorneys and the judge, and if the judge rules in favor ofthe strike, the potential juror is dismissed. (Lehmann and Smith,2013)6 Attorneys can strike an unlimitednumber of potential jurors for cause, as long as the judge is convinced thatthe reason for disqualification is valid. (Lehmann and Smith, 2013)7 Attorneys canreject jurors with or without cause by using peremptory challenges. (Findlaw, n.
d) 8A peremptorychallenge is a request to dismiss a potential juror withoutstating any reason, usually based on the attorney’s experience. (Criminal.lawyers.com, n.d.)9 This power can be used in two ways, one positive andone negative. It can be used positively and allow the attorney to remove biasedjurors, or, it can be used by attorneys in order to manipulate the verdict byremoving or keeping potential jurors with or without a certain type of bias. Thisbrings us to one of the biggest criticisms surrounding peremptory challenges,which started in 1986 with the case of James Kirkland Batson.
Attorney Powers in the Courtroom andManipulation of Jury Bias James Kirkland Batson, a black man, was chargedwith burglary and receipt of stolen goods. (Legal Dictionary,n.d)10 During the jury selection, the prosecutor usedhis peremptory challenges to remove 6 potential jurors, which included all 4 blackpeople in the jury pool. Batson’s defense attorney made a motion to Sixth Amendmentright to an impartial jury, and his Fourteenth Amendment right to equalprotection under the law. (Legal Dictionary,n.d)11The Fourteenth Amendment protects the accusedfrom being denied equal protection under the law, so any use of a peremptorychallenge on the basis of race or gender would be a violation of this law. (Terris,2016)12The judge, however, denied the motion and Batson was later convicted by the all-whitejury.
(Legal Dictionary, n.d)13From this case came the principle of the “BatsonChallenge”, which is an objection to the validity of a peremptory strike on thebasis that the other party used it to intentionally exclude a potential jurorbased on race, ethnicity, or sex. (Ojeda and Halliburton, 2017) 14When a Batson objection is raised, a race or gender-neutral reason for thestrike must be provided in order for it to be allowed, and if such a reason isnot
