• Replies 8 replies
  • Subscribers 84 subscribers
  • Views 1652 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related
Hints and tips
  • To quote someone's message, first select/highlight the relevant text, and then use the Quote button that appears
  • To "mention" someone, type @ followed by the start of the forum name, and choose from the list; that person will get a notification of being mentioned

Re: Jury duty

🐝 Bees 🐝 (they/them) Autism resources in bio #stoptheshock #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs

(Sorry I'm not sure what to better title this post. And opening this as a separate post so as not to derail the original.)

As the 6yr old OP thread https://community.autism.org.uk/f/adults-on-the-autistic-spectrum/7928/jury-duty made me think about it, is there anyone who definitely would do jury duty?

I am always somewhat concerned that the "jury of peers" are too often not really peers in any meaningful sense and since while we are more likely to be victims of crime I always worry that an autistic defendant would simply by statistical liklihood be judged be neurotypical peers who would subconsiously harbour a bias against them. For that reason I have reflected and come to the conclusion I would rather join a potential jury at the risk of being the single non-unanimous vote just because if it was me on trial for any reason I would want at least one of the jury of my peers to be a peer in that aspect (a fellow autist) specifically.

Does anyone else hold any similar feelings?

Parents

  • During a trial, you aren’t meant to think about the people involved. You are there only to look at the facts and evidence, and then make a decision that something did or didn’t happen. You cannot go by appearances, or accents. Having done jury service, I saw how the jurors acted. Everyone took their job seriously. 

  • in reply to Catlover

    I really don't trust anyone to truly only look at the facts and evidence alone, the privileged often lie about impartiality, there is a long history of disproportionate incarceration of black defendants from all white jurys as just one example of this.
    Sharing a demographic with someone is not the same as being on their side, it just means you won't automatically other that person because there is no "other" between you on that basis.
    I don't see why it should in any way be considered illogical or unreasonable that an autist should be concerned with a lack of due representation on a jury when we recognise that similar concern for defendants from other minorities vulnerable to institutional prejudice.

Reply
  • in reply to Catlover

    I really don't trust anyone to truly only look at the facts and evidence alone, the privileged often lie about impartiality, there is a long history of disproportionate incarceration of black defendants from all white jurys as just one example of this.
    Sharing a demographic with someone is not the same as being on their side, it just means you won't automatically other that person because there is no "other" between you on that basis.
    I don't see why it should in any way be considered illogical or unreasonable that an autist should be concerned with a lack of due representation on a jury when we recognise that similar concern for defendants from other minorities vulnerable to institutional prejudice.

Children
No Data