Jury service is an important civic responsibility, and the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to a jury of one’s peers. Nondiscrimination protections are an important tool in ensuring that juries are representative of the broader community and to help ensure fairer and more equitable outcomes in the legal system. Currently,
federal law prohibits discrimination against jurors based on their race, religion, sex, and other characteristics, but this law does not explicitly cover such discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. In 2018, the
American Bar Association formally urged governments at all levels to explicitly prohibit discrimination against jurors based on sexual orientation and gender identity. This map shows the status of jury nondiscrimination protections across the country.
Hover over the number of states to see which states are in each category.
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Prohibits jury discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
(10 states)
-
Prohibits jury discrimination based on gender identity only
(1 state)
-
Prohibits jury discrimination based on sexual orientation only
(7 states, 2 territories)
-
No known prohibition against jury discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity
(32 states , 3 territories + D.C.)
-
Denotes states and/or territories in a federal circuit with applicable ruling (see note)
*NOTES:
--The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 2014 ruling prohibiting jury service discrimination based on sexual orientation only.
--Arizona's Supreme Court prohibits all peremptory strikes (removing potential jurors without giving a reason why) in an effort to reduce bias.
--Massachusetts's Supreme Court prohibits discrimination in jury service based on sexual orientation, but the ruling's logic could also be applied to discrimination based on gender identity. Because the ruling did not specifically and explicitly prohibit discrimination based on gender identity, this map shows only the application to sexual orientation.
See The LGBTQ+ Bar Association
for more on the importance of jury access and the process of jury selection.
Recommended citation:
Movement Advancement Project. "Equality Maps: Jury Service Nondiscrimination." https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality_maps/jury_nondiscrimination.
Accessed 12/23/2024.
Percent of Adult LGBTQ Population Covered by Laws
*Note: These percentages reflect estimates of the LGBTQ adult population living in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Estimates of the LGBTQ adult population in the five inhabited U.S. territories are not available, and so cannot be reflected here.
32 % of LGBTQ population lives in states that prohibit jury discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
9 % of LGBTQ population lives in states that prohibit jury discrimination based on sexual orientation only
1 % of LGBTQ population lives in states that prohibit jury discrimination based on gender identity only
59 % of LGBTQ population lives in states that do not prohibit jury discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity
