The Association has historically supported the expansion of eligibility for jury venires to eliminate bias, including implicit bias, in New Jersey’s jury selection process and the justice system as a whole. In November 2021, the NJSBA Working Group on Jury Selection issued an Interim Report that made several recommendations to address implicit and explicit bias in the jury selection process. Among those recommendations is that the pool of jurors be expanded by removing the lifetime bar for jury service that citizens convicted of an indictable offense are subject to. As noted on page 11 of the Interim Report, the lifetime bar systematically excludes disproportionate numbers of persons of color from jury service, according to the findings of the New Jersey Commission to Review Criminal Sentencing. The Association strongly feels that in order to reduce bias and implicit bias in jury selection, it is fundamental that the system first produce a pool of jurors from which a fair jury of peers can be selected. This begins with sincere efforts to summon a representative group of citizens from whom selection of jurors can be made.
This proposed legislation will have significant impact in ensuring that jury venires are fairly representative. The Association applauds the sponsors for their work on this legislation to address an important issue facing the justice system.
For the reasons set forth above, the New Jersey State Bar Association supports A-977/S-3043 and urges you to vote yes to this proposed legislation.