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Jury Service Nondiscrimination

Jury service is an important civic responsibility, and the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to a jury of one’s peers. Nondiscrimination protections are an important tool in ensuring that juries are representative of the broader community and to help ensure fairer and more equitable outcomes in the legal system. Currently, federal law prohibits discrimination against jurors based on their race, religion, sex, and other characteristics, but this law does not explicitly cover such discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. In 2018, the American Bar Association formally urged governments at all levels to explicitly prohibit discrimination against jurors based on sexual orientation and gender identity. This map shows the status of jury nondiscrimination protections across the country.
United States Map
Washington New York U.S. Virgin Islands Puerto Rico Guam Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands American Samoa New Hampshire Vermont Virginia Pennsylvania New York Maine West Virginia Ohio Kentucky Indiana Michigan Illinois Wisconsin North Carolina South Carolina Tennessee Georgia Florida Mississippi Missouri Arkansas Louisiana Iowa Minnesota Oklahoma Kansas Nebraska South Dakota North Dakota Texas 33 Colorado Wyoming Montana Idaho Arizona Utah Nevada Oregon California Hawaii Alaska Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut New Jersey Delaware Maryland Washington D.C. New Hampshire Vermont
Hover over the number of states to see which states are in each category.
  • Prohibits jury discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (9 states)
  • Prohibits jury discrimination based on gender identity only (1 state)
  • Prohibits jury discrimination based on sexual orientation only (7 states, 2 territories)
  • No known prohibition against jury discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity (33 states , 3 territories + D.C.)
  • Denotes states and/or territories in a federal circuit with applicable ruling (see note)
*NOTES:
--The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 2014 ruling prohibiting jury service discrimination based on sexual orientation only.
--Arizona's Supreme Court prohibits all peremptory strikes (removing potential jurors without giving a reason why) in an effort to reduce bias.
--Massachusetts's Supreme Court prohibits discrimination in jury service based on sexual orientation, but the ruling's logic could also be applied to discrimination based on gender identity. Because the ruling did not specifically and explicitly prohibit discrimination based on gender identity, this map shows only the application to sexual orientation.

See The LGBTQ+ Bar Association for more on the importance of jury access and the process of jury selection.

Recommended citation:
 Movement Advancement Project. "Equality Maps: Jury Service Nondiscrimination."
https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality_maps/jury_nondiscrimination. Accessed 03/19/2024.

Percent of Adult LGBTQ Population Covered by Laws

*Note: These percentages reflect estimates of the LGBTQ adult population living in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Estimates of the LGBTQ adult population in the five inhabited U.S. territories are not available, and so cannot be reflected here.

34%

34 % of LGBTQ population lives in states that prohibit jury discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity

8%

8 % of LGBTQ population lives in states that prohibit jury discrimination based on sexual orientation only

1%

1 % of LGBTQ population lives in states that prohibit jury discrimination based on gender identity only

57%

57 % of LGBTQ population lives in states that do not prohibit jury discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity

Key
  • State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identityLaw covers sexual orientation and gender identity/expression
  • ,
  • State has law that only covers sexual orientationLaw covers sexual orientation
  • ,
  • State has law that covers gender identityLaw covers gender identity/expression
State Jury Nondiscrimination Year Passed
Alabama
Alaska
State has law that only covers sexual orientation
2014 (court case)
American Samoa
Arizona
State has law that only covers sexual orientation
2014 (court case)
Arkansas
California
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
2000 (SO); 2015 (GI)
Colorado
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
2008
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Guam
State has law that only covers sexual orientation
2014 (court case)
Hawaii
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
2014 (court case); 2022
Idaho
State has law that only covers sexual orientation
2014 (court case)
Illinois
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
2019
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
2017
Maryland
Massachusetts
State has law that only covers sexual orientation
2021 (court case)
Michigan
Minnesota
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
2013
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
State has law that only covers sexual orientation
2014 (court case)
Nebraska
Nevada
State has law that only covers sexual orientation
2014 (court case)
New Hampshire
State has law that covers gender identity
2019
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
2002 (SO); 2019 (GI)
North Carolina
North Dakota
Northern Mariana Islands
State has law that only covers sexual orientation
2014 (court case)
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
2007
Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
U.S. Virgin Islands
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
State has law that covers sexual orientation and gender identity
2018
West Virginia
Wisconsin
State has law that only covers sexual orientation
1996
Wyoming


Data current as of 03/14/2024
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Sexual Orientation Policy Tally

The term “sexual orientation” is loosely defined as a person’s pattern of romantic or sexual attraction to people of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or more than one sex or gender. Laws that explicitly mention sexual orientation primarily protect or harm lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. That said, transgender people who are lesbian, gay or bisexual can be affected by laws that explicitly mention sexual orientation.

Gender Identity Policy Tally

“Gender identity” is a person’s deeply-felt inner sense of being male, female, or something else or in-between. “Gender expression” refers to a person’s characteristics and behaviors such as appearance, dress, mannerisms and speech patterns that can be described as masculine, feminine, or something else. Gender identity and expression are independent of sexual orientation, and transgender people may identify as heterosexual, lesbian, gay or bisexual. Laws that explicitly mention “gender identity” or “gender identity and expression” primarily protect or harm transgender people. These laws also can apply to people who are not transgender, but whose sense of gender or manner of dress does not adhere to gender stereotypes.

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