The Australian jury in black and white: Barriers to Indigenous Representation on juries ...

• Main Authors: Hunter, Jill, Crittenden, Sharleigh
• Format: Report
• Language: unknown
• Published: UNSW Sydney 2023
• Subjects: First Nations
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.26190/unsworks/28690; http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/unsworks_85187

This report reviews claims that Indigenous Australians are under-represented on contemporary juries. Its aim is to identify the major legal and process-linked barriers to First Nations people accessing equal jury franchise and to this end, it draws on existing literature, law reform reports, statistics, case law and legislation to determine how and why (and if) this under-representation exists and to explore strategies for change for closing this particular gap. On occasions, given the lack of statistical data on the topic, the report draws on other statistical information, and first hand accounts by lawyers and judges. The report is the first fine-grained analysis of Australian jury statutes focused on exploring the systemic nature of under-the-radar barriers to Indigenous jury participation. Decades of point in time statistics, law reform commission studies, and individual case law examples of peremptory challenges and other forms of exclusion show how jury management and courtroom dynamics can and do ...