Criminal Law · answered on camera

Do You Really Get 12 Jury Peers? Truth Revealed

Name: Do You Really Get 12 Jury Peers? Truth Revealed
Uploaded: 2024-07-17T09:20:00Z
Channel: Spencer Freeman
Description: Is a jury really 'twelve of your peers'? Not always, says Pierce County attorney Spencer Freeman. His Black client started with three Black members in a 60-person pool—and none on the final twelve. Freeman calls it 'jury deselection': you strike the worst jurors and take what's left. Prosecutors can't strike by race, but the bar to justify it is low.

Quick answer

Is a jury really 'twelve of your peers'? Not always, says Pierce County attorney Spencer Freeman. His Black client started with three Black members in a 60-person pool—and none on the final twelve. Freeman calls it 'jury deselection': you strike the worst jurors and take what's left. Prosecutors can't strike by race, but the bar to justify it is low.

Excerpt summaries from the video and transcripts · how we make them

Answered by Spencer Freeman · Pierce County, WA

Highlights

0:31

— how his young client's jury ended up with no one from his community

1:13

— why he calls it 'jury deselection,' not selection

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a jury really 'twelve of your peers'?

Not always—one client's 60-person pool began with three members of his community and ended with none on the final twelve.

Why does he call it 'jury deselection'?

Because you strike the worst jurors and take what's left; prosecutors can't strike by race, but the bar to justify a strike is low.

→ Full interview on Attorneys.Media

Legal news in Washington

Links to outside sources. Not written or reviewed by the attorney.

State Of Washington, V. Harlan W. Blackburn

CourtListener (Free Law Project) · 2026-04-20

Flook v. Haynes

GovInfo (US GPO / USCOURTS) · 2025-06-18

USA v. Cunningham

GovInfo (US GPO / USCOURTS) · 2025-05-13

USA v. Balles

GovInfo (US GPO / USCOURTS) · 2025-02-05

Blizzard v. Boe

GovInfo (US GPO / USCOURTS) · 2024-06-25

Contact Spencer Freeman

Answered by

Spencer Freeman
Freeman Law Firm, Inc.

95 filmed answers · full profile →

Build note · one page per video, built from the directory database: this video’s own Quick answer, Law update where one applies, Highlights and Q&A, attributed to its attorney. Nothing on it is quoted verbatim and no interview text is reproduced — the full interview stays on Attorneys.Media, linked above.