Ursinus College Digital Commons @ Ursinus College Politics Summer Fellows Student Research 7-22-2016 Jury Bias: Myth and Reality Callie K. Terris Ursinus College,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pol_sum Part of the Criminal Procedure Commons, and the Political Science Commons Click here to let us know how access to this document benefits oy u. Recommended Citation Terris, Callie K., "Jury Bias: Myth and Reality" (2016). Politics Summer Fellows. 3. https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pol_sum/3 This Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Research at Digital Commons @ Ursinus College. It has been accepted for inclusion in Politics Summer Fellows by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Ursinus College. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Jury Bias: Myth and Reality by Callie Terris Mentor: Gerard J. Fitzpatrick Department of Politics Ursinus College Collegeville, PA Submitted on July 22, 2016 as a part of the 2016 Summer Fellows Program 1 I. Introduction At the heart of our justice system is the myth that all people receive an unbiased trial based on the principles of fairness and equality. The symbol of Lady Justice portrays justice as blind and objective, free of any favoritism or bias due to race, gender, or social standing. Bias is defined as a prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair. This definition gives the term a stereotypically negative connotation. One rarely thinks of bias as something positive, but the reality is that it can be.