Race, Gender, and Juries: Evidence from North Carolina∗

This paper uses data from felony jury trials in North Carolina to show that (i) the race and gender composition of the randomly selected jury pool has a significant effect on the probability of conviction, (ii) attorneys adjust peremptory challenge strategies in accordance, and (iii) State peremptory challenges have a significant positive impact on the conviction rate when the defendant is a black male. Jury pools with higher proportions white men are more likely to convict black male defendants relative to white male defendants. Jury pools with a higher proportion of black men are more likely to acquit all defendants, especially black men. Attorneys use peremptory challenges strategically in accordance with these results, which are robust to a wide set of controls, including county and judge fixed effects. Each State peremptory challenge is correlated with a 2.4%-2.8% increase in the conviction rate when the defendant is black. JEL classification: K40, K14