Document Type
Poster
College
College of Humanities & Social Sciences
Start Date
25-3-2026 1:00 PM
End Date
25-3-2026 2:00 PM
Abstract
At every level of the criminal legal system, colorblind laws, policies, and decision-making are used by ordinary citizens to perpetuate racial disparities and maintain subordination from the Black population. Specifically, jury nullification, or the process of acquitting a guilty defendant, has been racialized to enact injustice on Black communities. Despite the normalcy of colorblind rhetoric in the criminal legal system, approaching jury nullification from a colorblind perspective fails to acknowledge the role of race in court case outcomes nor does it achieve justice for individuals being judged by a system that incorporates colorblind racism. This poster highlights information from the background and literature review of a Master’s Thesis proposal aiming to critically examine academic literature regarding jury nullification in the criminal justice and criminology discipline.
The Intersection of Race and the Discussion of Jury Nullification
At every level of the criminal legal system, colorblind laws, policies, and decision-making are used by ordinary citizens to perpetuate racial disparities and maintain subordination from the Black population. Specifically, jury nullification, or the process of acquitting a guilty defendant, has been racialized to enact injustice on Black communities. Despite the normalcy of colorblind rhetoric in the criminal legal system, approaching jury nullification from a colorblind perspective fails to acknowledge the role of race in court case outcomes nor does it achieve justice for individuals being judged by a system that incorporates colorblind racism. This poster highlights information from the background and literature review of a Master’s Thesis proposal aiming to critically examine academic literature regarding jury nullification in the criminal justice and criminology discipline.