NC CRED urges Supreme Court to establish a commission on racial discrimination in North Carolina jury selection.

The longstanding and ongoing legacy of racial discrimination in jury selection is well documented, especially in North Carolina. Our current legal framework has proven incapable of addressing the problem. Recognizing the failures of the Batson framework, courts in other states have formed commissions to develop more robust responses to this multifaceted and enduring problem.

The North Carolina Supreme Court can lead us in ending race discrimination in jury selection by establishing a commission to (1) study and develop more effective safeguards against race discrimination and racialized outcomes in jury selection, and (2) develop a comprehensive jury selection data collection program sufficient to monitor enforcement of legal protections against jury discrimination.