Names Don’t Sway Grand Juries

A new study finds Black defendants with stereotypically Black names are no more likely to be prosecuted by grand juries than those with stereotypically White names. The authors estimate racial bias accounts for at most 0.3% of the Black–White felony conviction gap, suggesting jury-stage discrimination is minimal. — This challenges a common explanation for disparity and shifts reform focus toward other stages and drivers in the criminal justice system.