Loophole in the Legal System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Loophole in the Legal System - Essay Example More specific questions regarding the influence of race on jury decision-making have also emerged from this spate of well-publicised cases: How does a defendant's race influence juror's perception and judgement How does the racial composition of a jury affect its deliberations and final decision Is the influence of race on jurors the same in all trails What difference, if any, would it make if more of the lawyers representing criminal defendants were racial minorities Studies show that Justices of the courts who served from 1789-1962 were socially atypical of the average American background: they came from upper-class families, attended the best law schools, were white male and generally protestant (Abraham, 1962; Ulmer, 1973). This unrepresentative nature of the courts can challenge the legitimacy of an institution. A judicial system of white men can be seen as producing only white man's justice. Another reason one can posit for the desirability of minorities in the judiciary is assimilation. America's heterogeneous population is clustered in groups that thrive along racial, religious, and national-background harmonization (Gordon, 1964). With the Hispanic population growing at a rapid rate, with blacks, Native American Indians, Asians, Jews, and White Anglo-Saxons, America, as a nation, faces the problem of how these groups can exist alongside one another. The United States is a pluralistic society.