¶ … ethnicity influences courtroom proceedings and judicial practices.
The law making against racial discrimination has reduced the intensity of ethnical influences on courtroom proceedings yet the judicial practices are not free from the impurities of racist impact. Some ethnic backgrounds offer less educational facilities due to poverty that leads to criminal activities. Thus these ethnic groups are more involved in criminal judicial practices than the others. The minds of police are often convinced that there are more tendencies towards crime in one ethnic group than the other. The biased police as well as justice behavior towards an ethnic group influences the court room proceedings and may result into unfair decisions. Muslims are for example considered extremists mainly after the events of 9/11 thus they are judged more critically than the others in court room proceedings. Katherine (2007) believes that despite liberal era of 21st century, the judicial system could not uproot the ethical perceptions of crime. She says that, "Racial and ethnic disparities persist in crime and criminal justice in the United States. Minorities remain overrepresented." Some minority ethnic groups are more victimized than others during detention, sentencing and confinement.
• Summarize the arguments for and against ethnicity-based jury nullification
Jury nullification means a jury that believes the suspect is guilty yet they issue a non-guilty verdict. This happens when a jury...
There are arguments in favor as well as against the ethnic basis of jury nullification.
Pros
The
analysis only of facts through intellectual evaluation is the job of machines and not human beings. Human beings face emotional and psychological limitations too. Thus the human beings are made judge to analyses a case by assessing person's feelings,
wisdom, opinions, experience, and
integrity. Each
race has some
norms and a particular set of behavior that predicts their actions. Therefore, these differences should be considered while making decision since a customized sentence to a crime would serve better than punishing without background analysis. This will make positive changes in behavior of
minorities and their
faith in justice system.
Cons
Often some ethnic groups are favored than the others in jury nullification. Thus when a white Minneapolis jury did not punish the white police officer in black teenager killing, protests started in the county. Thus the jury nullification can be viewed as an unjust action by some ethnic groups. Also it can develop the sense of protection against law in many people. This should be properly dealt so that jury nullification does not encourage an ethnic group towards crime. The races lose equilibrium when there is jury nullification. It does not promote unity and can support discrimination.
Many minorities, some
lawyers and a few judges hold similar perceptions about the
treatment of minority litigants. These general perceptions however are not necessarily shared by all persons working in the
courts. The Task Force lists below the more significant and disturbing perceptions held by minorities, some lawyers and a few judges:
• Include contemporary examples of ethnicity-based jury nullification.
There have been some historic cases of ethnicity-based jury nullification. For example,…
