Public perceptions of felon-juror exclusion: An exploratory study

Abstract

Despite the pervasiveness of felon-juror exclusion, this is the first study to systematically explore public opinions about the exclusion of convicted felons from voting and jury service. While results from 815 Californians revealed greater support for felon-voters than for felon-jurors, a majority opposed felon-juror exclusion and rejected the rationales for doing so. Findings also revealed stark ideological divides, as conservatives were less likely to support felon-voters or felon-jurors, and were more likely to endorse the justifications for felon-juror exclusion. As states debate legislation permitting felon-juror inclusion, our findings indicate that support for such policies is likely greater than courts and policymakers had previously thought, suggesting that officials might benefit from re-considering whether this form of civic marginalization actually represents the will of the people.

“Because I feel like I want to be heard, you know?:” Carceral citizenship and collateral consequences

“…Meanwhile, public‐opinion studies have found majority support for temporary, sentence‐only disenfranchisement rules (Burton et al, 2020; Chiricos, 2012; Mancini et al, 2021; Manza et al, 2004; Pinaire et al, 2003). Survey respondents appear evenly divided on jury‐eligibility restoration in two recent studies (Binnall & Petersen, 2021; Burton et al, 2020). In other policy areas, majorities appear to support gun‐rights restrictions imposed on people with violent felony convictions (Barry et al, 2019; Mancini et al, 2021), and to oppose restrictions on eligibility for food assistance and public housing (Bandara et al, 2020; Johnston & Wozniak, 2020).…”

“…Such laws have become a focus of reform advocacy and academic inquiry as a major component of the United States "shadow carceral state" (Beckett & Murakawa, 2012). A rich critical literature scrutinizes these civil restrictions and their impacts, ranging from a comprehensive legal treatise (Logan et al, 2018) to close-focus studies of jury-service exclusion (Binnall, 2014(Binnall, , 2018Binnall & Petersen, 2021), employment barriers (Denver et al, 2018;Lageson et al, 2015), occupational-licensure barriers (Lucken & Ponte, 2008), gun-rights restrictions (Carlson, 2017(Carlson, , 2018, access to public housing (Tran-Leung, 2015), and rules limiting food and cash benefits for people with felony drug records (Martin & Shannon, 2020;Owens & Smith, 2012;Sheely, 2021), for example.…”