44% of Black summons recipients never respond vs 12% of white

Jury summons non-response rates show dramatic racial disparities: in 2024 data, 44% of Black summons recipients, 30% of Hispanic recipients, and 19% of Asian recipients never responded, compared to 12% of white recipients. This is not simply about civic disengagement — it reflects compounding structural barriers. Black and Hispanic Americans are more likely to work hourly jobs without paid jury leave, more likely to have moved recently (making summons undeliverable), more likely to distrust the court system due to historical and ongoing discrimination, and more likely to face financial hardship from unpaid service. The result is that jury pools systematically underrepresent the communities most affected by the criminal justice system. A Black defendant in a majority-Black city can face an almost entirely white jury because the summons-to-seated pipeline filters out Black jurors at every stage. This persists because courts rely on outdated source lists (voter rolls, DMV records) that undercount mobile and low-income populations, and because the $15-$50/day juror fee makes service economically impossible for those living paycheck to paycheck.