Exorcising Presumptions? Judges and Attorneys Contemplate “Felon-Juror Inclusion” in Maine

Public perceptions of felon-juror exclusion: An exploratory study

“…For many, convicted felons' supposed criminal loyalties and presumed collective hatred for the state makes felon-juror exclusion "feel" logical, and perhaps even inevitable. However, recent studies not only show that the presumed bias of convicted felons is dramatically overstated (Binnall, 2014) and that the character of citizens with a felony criminal conviction does not diminish their fitness for jury service (Binnall, 2018a), but that felon-juror inclusion might, in fact, add to deliberation quality and help facilitate successful reintegration/criminal desistance (Binnall, 2019(Binnall, , 2018b(Binnall, , 2018c.…”

“…In contrast, the exclusion of convicted felons from jury service has received considerably less scholarly attention (Binnall, 2009), with only a handful of studies examining the topic to date (for a review, see Binnall, 2019). Those few studies demonstrate that, like felon-voter disenfranchisement, felon-juror exclusion racially homogenizes a democratic institution (Wheelock, 2011), rests on tenuous justifications (Binnall, 2014), might negatively influence the reintegration of former offenders (Binnall, 2018a;2018b), and can promote the "othering" of citizens with a felony criminal record (Binnall, 2018c). Given this lack of attention, felon-juror exclusion stands as arguably "the last acceptable form of civic banishment" (Binnall, 2010, pp.…”

The collateral consequences of criminal legal association during jury selection

“…A few studies using in‐depth interviews, in contrast, provide suggestive evidence of how court officials understand bias in relation to criminal legal system association during voir dire. Based on interviews with 27 court officials in Maine, Binnall (2018a) found that most court officials report making individualized assessments of potential jurors with felony convictions, largely rejecting the idea that such individuals should be excluded based on their felony status alone. This study reveals that in the only state without statutory felon‐juror exclusion, court officials may not always seek to exclude people with direct criminal legal system contact.…”

“…Building from recent research that places these two literatures in conversation (e.g., Binnall 2019; Wheelock, 2011), this article examines whether and why court officials—judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys—seek to exclude people from jury service who have direct and vicarious forms of criminal legal system association beyond a felony conviction. Whereas a small number of interview‐based studies have examined how court officials think about juror bias in general (Olczak et al, 1991; Zalman & Tsoudis, 2005) and in relation to felony status in particular (Binnall, 2018a), less research has considered whether and how court officials think about juror bias in relation to potential jurors' broader criminal legal system associations.…”