Description
- Abstract:
- Alexis de Tocqueville famously asserted that the American jury system acts a pathway for ordinary citizens to participate in democratic systems beyond the judiciary. While there has been some research in the past 50 years testing this effect, these works focus on studying the effects of a jury empanelment on post-service civic engagement. Little has been done, however, to test the civic effects of a jury dismissal on civic behaviors and attitudes. This work examines de Tocqueville’s ideas as they relate to dismissed jurors using a mixed methods approach. Regression analysis of post-service voting and confidence rates reveal that individuals who are shown the court room and dismissed do not experience significant demobilizing effects. At the same time, interviews with 34 dismissed jurors at the Rhode Island State Court House demonstrate that there is a significant financial burden to the jury selection process. While people were relieved to have been dismissed for financial reasons, many were disappointed that they could not serve. These seemingly paradoxical results suggest that, despite the obvious financial burdens to civic engagement, there is a strong desire to participate in the political sphere that the current selection process fails to recognize.
- Notes:
- Senior thesis (AB)--Brown University, 2019
- Concentration: Public Policy
Access Conditions
- Rights
- In Copyright
- Restrictions on Use
- Collection is open for research.
Citation
Crawford, Kendall,
"The Dismissal: An Analysis of the Democratic Effects of Removal from a Jury Box"
(2019).
The Watson School of International and Public Affairs Theses and Dissertations.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://doi.org/10.26300/ysnb-4w70
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Collection:
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The Watson School of International and Public Affairs Theses and Dissertations
Theses and Dissertations for the The Watson School of International and Public Affairs department....