Liman Summer Fellow Advocates for “A Jury of Our Peers”

Should a person convicted of a felony be barred from serving on a jury? The New York legislature has said no by enacting a new statute for which a summer Liman fellow helped gather support.

Called A Jury of Our Peers, the law would allow people convicted of felonies to serve on New York juries once they are released from prison or have otherwise satisfied all of their sentencing requirements. The law’s name is inspired by Susan Glaspell’s 1917 short story of the same title. In the story, based on a real-life murder case Glaspell covered as a reporter, a woman is accused of murdering her husband. In the quest for clues, two women accompany sheriffs to the murder scene and realize that the husband had been abusing his wife. The men overlooked what the women saw, demonstrating the importance of a having a jury of one’s peers.   

Frances Keohane, a Yale College student and summer fellow at the Legal Action Center, went to Albany this summer to help build coalitions to support the bill. Speaking to about 70 students who came to an event to learn about Liman undergraduate fellowships, Keohane discussed the “ecosystem” needed for building partnerships and the complexities of negotiating a statute. The New York State Assembly passed the bill in June. The bill is now on the desk of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Supporters of the bill emphasize the importance of a diverse jury pool that reflects the broader population. A New York American Civil Liberties Union study showed that New York’s disqualification of felons from juries excluded 25% of Black Manhattan residents from jury service.

Similar legislative efforts for eliminating bans on jury service are underway in states including New Jersey, Louisiana, and Virginia. Advocates say that a goal of these efforts is to help people with convictions participate in democratic institutions.