Sixteen Million Angry Men: Reviving a Dead Doctrine to Challenge the Constitutionality of Excluding Felons from Jury Service

43 Pages Posted: 17 Aug 2018

See all articles by James M. Binnall

James M. Binnall

California State University, Long Beach

Date Written: January 1, 2009

Abstract

While conceding that precedent and contextual factors prohibit the characterization of jury service as a fundamental right and pose insurmountable barriers to establishing felons as a class worthy of special protection, this Article contends that under the equal protection model, jury service is an important right, the burden of which mandates intermediate constitutional scrutiny. Moreover, this Article asserts that felon jury exclusion statutes warrant the application of the irrebuttable presumption doctrine because they overinclusively presume felons to be unsuitable for jury service while preventing them from taking part in voir dire, an established, individualized process for determining juror fitness.

Keywords: Convicted Felon, Juror, Jury Exclusion, Irrebuttable Presumption, Equal Protection

Suggested Citation

Binnall, James, Sixteen Million Angry Men: Reviving a Dead Doctrine to Challenge the Constitutionality of Excluding Felons from Jury Service (January 1, 2009). Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law, Vol. 17, No. 1, 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3226077

James Binnall (Contact Author)

California State University, Long Beach ( email )

1250 Bellflower Boulevard
Long Beach, CA 90840
United States

HOME PAGE: http://web.csulb.edu/colleges/chhs/departments/criminal-justice/profiles/James_Binnall_Bio.htm

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
57
Abstract Views
350
Rank
659,560
PlumX Metrics