Study: Racial make-up of jury pool affects trial outcome

The racial make-up of a jury pool has a major effect on the outcome of a trial, according to a Duke University study.

Researchers examined more than 700 cases in Sarasota and Lake Counties in Florida. In cases with an all-white jury pool, blacks were convicted 81% of the time and whites were convicted 66% of the time.

When the jury pool included at least one black person, the conviction rates fell to 71% for black defendants.