Flickr

“I guess we are profiling, but they cause all the trouble.” Racist statements such as this may be abundant in jury deliberations—but how often do you think a higher court rules to reverse a conviction because of jury prejudice? That is what The Marshall Project, a nonprofit dedicated to news of the criminal justice system, wants you to answer in its new quiz, “How Racist Is Too Racist?”

Marshall Project commentary editor Andrew Cohen writes:

The U.S. Supreme Court just agreed to hear the case of Miguel Angel Pena-Rodriguez, a Colorado man who argued the jury that convicted him of misdemeanor sexual offenses in 2007 was tainted by bias. During deliberations, a juror confided to others that he knew the defendant was guilty “because he is Mexican, and Mexican men take whatever they want.” …

We’ll give you the juror’s statement. You tell us if the court upheld the conviction or reversed it because of jury bias.

Take the quiz yourself and see if you can guess how higher courts ruled from case to case. As The Marshall Project warns, the quiz includes “highly objectionable language.”

–Posted by Emma Niles

WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...

This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.

At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.

Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.

Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.

Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.

Donate now.

SUPPORT TRUTHDIG