# Racial composition of juries

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racial-composition-of-juries/153824>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 9, 2003, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racial-composition-of-juries/153824 "2003-02-09T04:05:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![KenP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c0e974/32.png) [@KenP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KenP)\
**Post date:** [February 9, 2003, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racial-composition-of-juries/153824/1 "2003-02-09T04:05:46Z")

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I have read of convictions being overturned when a black person was convicted by an all-white jury. But what happens when the all-white jury reflects the local population? The reason I ask is that an Asian man is currently on trial here for murder, and it’s a pretty safe bet, the state being 99% white, that his jury is all white. Can he get a fair trial? Does he have grounds for appeal?

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**Author:** ![II\_Gyan\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@II\_Gyan\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/II_Gyan_II)\
**Post date:** [February 9, 2003, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racial-composition-of-juries/153824/2 "2003-02-09T04:09:11Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by KenP \*  
> \*\*Can he get a fair trial? Does he have grounds for appeal? \*\*

Probably not. But there is no such thing as a fair trial. There is no automatic way to switch off prejudices/bias during jury deliberations. Only the appearance. As long as the jury appears fair, that’s the end of the story.

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**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\
**Post date:** [February 9, 2003, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racial-composition-of-juries/153824/3 "2003-02-09T04:36:49Z")

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Convictions have been overturned when prosecutors used racial criteria to strike jurors, which is impermissible under a Supreme Court decision called _Batson v. Kentucky_.

If a jury pool is drawn using race-neutral procedures, and selected using race-neutral criteria, it does not have to be racially diverse to be constitutional.

- Rick