4-1 Legal Policy Memorandum: Fair Cross
Section of Jurors

Critical Issues in Criminal Justice

CJ 500 Module Four Legal Policy Memorandum
Guidelines and Rubric

Overview: For this assignment, you will
write a legal policy memorandum to the district court judge addressing the
controversial issue of obtaining a fair cross section of jurors to serve on a
jury. By analyzing this specific issue, this memorandum will help prepare you
for your Milestone Two submission in Module Five, where you will provide an
in-depth analysis of the contemporary criminal justice issue that you have
selected for your final project.

The continuing underrepresentation of some
groups—including minorities, young adults, and the poor—remains a concern in
attempting to create a fair cross section of the community represented on
juries. One reason for this underrepresentation is obvious racism, bigotry, and
prejudice. Another reason is that the poor often cannot afford to be on juries,
because they will miss work and be compensated at a much lower wage to serve on
the jury. Social class plays a strong role in conflict theory, as the theory
suggests socioeconomic status directly affects the selection of jurors and the
disparity in social class of those incarcerated in this country. Often,
attorneys use peremptory challenges to exclude jurors, which require no show of
cause or reasonable grounds to exclude. These peremptory challenges are often
utilized when a juror seems apathetic or disinterested in the process.
Peremptory challenges are limited in number, whereas challenges for cause (some
type of conflict, bias, or affiliation with the involved parties) are
unlimited.

Prompt: Use the Memorandum Template to
complete the assignment. Address the following critical elements as they are
reflected in the Sample Legal Policy Memorandum. These critical elements appear
as headings in that document as follows:

1. Issue Presented: Summarize the issue in
the form of a brief one-sentence question.

2. Short Answer: Provide a short answer
which summarizes the conclusion of the memorandum.

3. Statement of Facts: Describe how the
issue may negatively affect public perception of the criminal justice system.

4. Discussion: Provide a brief discussion
of the issue, including the recent history of the issue and any legal
precedents related to it.

5. Conclusion: Provide a conclusion based
on the details of the issue outlined in the Discussion section.

6. Recommendations:

a) What recommendations should be in place
to make sure that the jury pool contains a fair cross section of the community?

b) What are types of evidence-based
practices can be employed to have people of lower socioeconomic status more
willing to serve on a jury?

c) Based on your analysis of the issue
using conflict theory, what are the best practices to ensure random selection
of individuals to serve on a

jury?

d) Address what the impact of this issue is
on the criminal justice system. Are more organizations than only courts
affected by this? Include

examples of the impact on the different
branches of the criminal justice system.