Reminder: Fairness
Remember, you have promised to be a fair juror. A fair juror
is a person who will keep their promise to be fair and impartial
and who will not permit the verdict to be influenced by a bias or
prejudice in favor of or against a person who appeared in this
trial on account of that person’s race, color, national origin,
ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression, religion,
religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation, and
further, a fair juror must be mindful of any stereotypes or
attitudes about people or about groups of people that the juror
may have, and must not allow those stereotypes or attitudes to
affect their verdict.
As I have explained, we all develop and hold unconscious
views on many subjects. Some of those unconscious views may
come from stereotypes and attitudes about people or groups of
people that may impact on a person’s thinking and decision-
making without that person even knowing it. As a juror, you are
asked to make a very important decision about another member
of the community. I know you would not want to make that
decision based on such stereotypes or attitudes, that is, on what
we call implicit biases, and it would be wrong for you to do so. A
fair juror must guard against the impact of such stereotypes or
attitudes. You can do this by asking yourself during your
deliberations whether your views and conclusions would be
different if the defendant, witnesses or others that you have
heard about or seen in court were of a different race, color,
national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression,
religious practice, age or sexual orientation, or if they did not
have a disability. If the answer is yes, then, in keeping with your
promise to be fair, reconsider your views and conclusions along
with the other jurors, and make sure your verdict is based on the
evidence and not on stereotypes or attitudes. Justice requires no
less.
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