U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington: Understanding the Effects of Unconscious Bias

There’s something of a formula to the first morning of jury duty. It might involve a refresher on differences between civil and criminal cases, a little bit of shuffling between rooms, and a lot of waiting around in a generously named “Jury Lounge.” But in one federal district, the customary civics lessons for jurors have been given a twist to alert them to the hidden biases they might bring into the courtroom. The source is this 11-minute video — believed to be the first of its kind — that since March 2017 has been shown to every prospective juror in the two federal courthouses, in Seattle and Tacoma, that serve the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. Learn more in our report on this government video: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2017/06/21/a-federal-court-asks-jurors-to-confront-their-hidden-biases More from us: https://www.themarshallproject.org/newsletters https://www.tiktok.com/@marshallproj https://www.instagram.com/marshallproj https://www.reddit.com/user/marshall_project https://www.facebook.com/TheMarshallProject.org/ https://www.threads.net/@marshallproj