H.B. 5414, An Act Concerning the Jury Administrator’s Retention of Demographic Data Relating to Jurors

People facing criminal charges should face a jury of their peers, but jury pools often do not represent our communities. Nationwide, there is a severe lack of representation of people of color on juries. Though discriminating against a member of a jury pool based on their race is against the law, prosecutors have the ability to strike a certain number of jurors without stating a reason as part of jury selection, and studies have shown that prosecutors tend to strike people of color more often. To ensure equal treatment under the law, it is important to require accurate data about the race and ethnicity of jurors in Connecticut courts and to allow a person who has been accused of a crime to inspect and copy those records to ensure that they truly face a jury of their peers, as required by the Constitution. The ACLU of Connecticut supports this bill, which would encourage transparency and accountability and help end the discriminatory practices that happen in the juror selection process.