Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1991
Abstract
Juries are hallowed institutions in our constitutional system. They are mentioned not once, but three times in the Bill of Rights, and had been earlier enshrined in Article III. At the heart of our exalted vision of the jury trial is the sense that juries should be reflective of the community which they are supposed to represent in the courtroom. Of course, many members of the relevant community have routinely been excluded from jury service, including women who comprise more than half of the population. Historically, the exclusion of women from civil jury service was a systematic and system-wide practice. Only in the last few decades has it become clear that systematic exclusion of women from jury pools is unconstitutional. Now the exclusion of women is accomplished more surreptitiously, through the use of peremptory challenges to members of the jury pool.
Recommended Citation
Laura G. Dooley, Sounds of Silence on the Civil Jury, 26 Val. U. L. Rev. 406 (1991).
Source Publication
Valparaiso University Law Review