Disparities in Jury Outcomes

September 2008 / Abell Reports / Criminal Justice and Addiction

Do juries in Baltimore City convict defendants at different rates than juries in other jurisdictions?

Do juries in Baltimore City convict defendants at different rates than juries in other jurisdictions? This is the question answered by the current study, which examined 293 cases from a pool of 1,624 unique cases – a random sample of cases from Baltimore City of all cases where a jury trial was prayed or scheduled in fiscal year 2006 (July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006) and all cases disposed by jury trial in Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard Counties from July 1, 2005 through December 31, 2006. To answer the question of jurisdictional disparity, jury verdicts were compared between Baltimore City and the three jurisdictions combined, and Baltimore City in comparison to Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties individually, (there were too few cases available from Howard County to conduct an individual analysis of verdicts in that jurisdiction).