Scientific Jury Selection

Working from the assumption that particular demographics, attitudes, and broad personality characteristics can predispose jurors towards preferred verdict decisions, social scientists seek to assist justice systems in their selection of jurors at trial. This process commonly known as Scientifc Jury Selection involves trying to identify what views are likely to be held by the individuals comprised on a jury and eliminating those people thought to be undesirable to the evidence in the case. In theory, such jury selection procedures were designed to remove biased jurors from criminal trials, who are considered incapable of making fair and impartial decisions (Fulero & Wrightsman, 2009).