Juries rarely receive attention in public administration despite the explicitly “public” nature of their function and the determinative nature of their decision-making. Applying the theoretical construct of public participation to jury decision making, we find that Black defendants are less likely to be convicted by juries composed of a higher percentage of Black jurors and are more likely to be convicted by juries composed of a higher percentage of White and Hispanic jurors. Thus, analysis of public participation must account for the relative inclusivity and diversity of participants as this will likely affect the output of the process. In short, diversity matters in public participation
