Samuel Sommers Quotations

Traditionally, most psychologists and legal scholars have assumed that the influences of racial diversity result from the contributions of minority group members, who in effect bear the burden of bringing new perspectives and experiences to the table. This study offers the novel hypothesis that majority group members are also responsible for effects of diversity, and that performance advantages to jury diversity are not limited to white and black jurors bringing different experiences to the jury room and sharing different perspectives.

Traditional arguments in favor of diversity often focus on ethics, morality and constitutionality. I wanted to look at the observable effects of diversity on performance.

Such diverse juries deliberated longer, raised more facts about the case, and conducted broader and more wide-ranging deliberations. They also made fewer factual errors in discussing evidence and when errors did occur, those errors were more likely to be corrected during the discussion.

Changes in whites' behavior began as soon as they were aware of the composition of their group, before jury deliberations began.