“The right to serve on a jury is as fundamental to the function of democracy as the right to vote. When we head to the polls, we decide who should write our laws. When we participate as a juror, we collectively decide how those laws should apply to justice.”
May 4, 2021 was the start of a bright new chapter in New York’s democracy. Our state enacted legislation that automatically restored the right to vote for New Yorkers returning home from prison. This year, the state legislature has the opportunity to build on that progress by ending the lifetime ban on jury service for people with felony convictions.
Lawmakers must pass the Jury of Our Peers Act. The right to serve on a jury is as fundamental to the function of democracy as the right to vote. When we head to the polls, we decide who should write our laws. When we participate as a juror, we collectively decide how those laws should apply to justice.
However, one of the collateral consequences of decades of over-policing in communities of color and mass incarceration has been the shrinking of our jury pool: There are nearly 1 million New Yorkers who cannot serve on a jury; nearly two-thirds of whom are Black or Latinx. In Manhattan, for example, that means 40 percent of Black men are ineligible to be seated for jury duty—civil or criminal.
In turn, the resulting juries are homogeneous—which leads to less deliberation, less consideration of evidence, and less reflection on bias. Thus, the promise that we will be judged by a jury of our peers remains unfulfilled in New York.
When I was 17 years old, I was arrested, charged, and sentenced as an adult, eventually spending 10 years in prison. When I was released, I began a now-decades long career in social services. I now serve as the deputy CEO of the Fortune Society, among other professional and personal achievements. Yet despite my transformation and commitment to giving back, I am presumptively barred from serving on a jury in New York State because of my felony conviction. Unless we change our law, I cannot fully participate in civic life.
The Fortune Society is one of the largest alternatives to incarceration and reentry service providers in New York City. Last year we worked with over 11,000 people to help them to reintegrate into our communities by connecting individuals to stable housing, meaningful employment and proper health support.
The people that we serve are too often denied access to employment or housing as a result of their conviction history (though that will change for some with the enactment of the Clean Slate and Fair Chance for Housing Acts). These are just two of the most well-known barriers that negatively affect reentry outcomes. And yet, the jury ban works to brand people with convictions in a painful, non-quantifiable way. For a person like me, who has committed to transforming their life, being turned away from jury service is a stark reminder that we will forever bear a mark of exclusion.
Civic engagement enhances public safety and is essential to understanding oneself as part of a broader community. Strong, healthy communities make us accountable to our neighbors, in addition to bringing purpose and joy to our lives. Studies routinely demonstrate that individuals whose civil rights were restored upon their return home from incarceration for a felony conviction were significantly less likely to reoffend than those who were disenfranchised.
Ending the jury ban will encourage rehabilitation and promote successful and, ultimately, sustainable reentry outcomes. It will also send a clear message to those of us with felony convictions that our society does not believe that everyone should be forever defined by the worst thing they have ever done.
That is why I am calling for state legislators to pass the Jury of Our Peers Act at once. I would love to grumble about being called for jury duty just like everyone else.
Rob DeLeon is the deputy CEO at the Fortune Society.
