The project centers around the question: should there be a mandatory quota of minorities (e.g. racial and gender) on jury panels? My project focuses on how juries are formed, what regulations exist to guarantee that panels are diverse (if any), and whether having a mandated quota is ethically and legally justifiable.
I was interested in completing an ARIA project as I wanted the opportunity to devote myself entirely to researching a topic I am passionate about without needing to worry about other courses and the hectic semester schedule. Being able to do it over the summer and control when and what I did my research on also gave me additional freedom that I think will prepare me greatly for graduate research.
My learning goals and outcomes are two-fold. First, by completing this project I gained invaluable experience on a topic that will directly and positively impact my studies and postgraduate plans. Notably, I will be applying to criminology, socio-legal studies, and related post-graduate programs in the Fall. Consequently, by engaging with the topic of jury panels and researching the legal and ethical aspects of diversity quotas, I will be better prepared to tackle similar projects post-graduation. Second, I learned how to: (i) further develop my research and analytical skills by taking the time to devote myself fully to my research, and (ii) relate law and ethics at a higher level.
Some of the highlights of my research internship were: 1) listening to the In the Dark podcast, 2) reading court cases, and 3) discussing my research with peers. I stumbled upon the In the Dark podcast when I was looking for examples of cases where the jury was predominantly white. In the season of the podcast, I listened to, the researchers investigated the sentencing of Mr. Curtis Flowers, a man who was put on trial seven times and faced with a majority all-white jury each and every time. Despite it being apparent that the Attorney was explicitly choosing to remove Black jurors, Mr. Flowers had trouble getting him to stop raising the issue to trial again. Overall, this podcast was very enlightening and became a foundational step when I embarked on my research. Second, reading court cases proved to be an especially interesting and fun task for me. I greatly appreciated seeing how the Supreme Court Justices phrased and supported their arguments and it further showed me that law is something I would really like to pursue. Finally, discussing my research with peers proved extremely crucial, especially when trying to ensure that the minority perspective was being addressed objectively and in a way that did not further perpetuate stigma.
Some of the challenges I encountered while doing my research was figuring out how to go through and analyze complex cases. Because a lot of my research focuses on the legal and ethical aspects of jury panels, I had to learn a lot of new terminology and legal jargon. Though at first this seemed very daunting, after researching it further and breaking down the confusing terms, I was able to overcome these challenges and adapt to the new vocabulary.
ARIA has shaped my future career and education path by helping me further develop research skills in the field of Law and Ethics. Additionally, it has shown me that I have a true interest and passion for legal analysis and will therefore be applying to graduate programs in law and ethics-related fields.
I would like to personally thank Mr. Harry Samuel for taking the time to contribute to the ARIA program. I am very grateful for your generous donation and your support to McGill and its students. Thanks to you I was able to complete a project that meant a lot to me and will better prepare me for future studies.
