DUREN TEST

Duren test.Constitutional law.  A test to  determine  whether a jury’s  composition  violates the

fair-cross-section requirement and a criminal  defendant’s Sixth  Amendment right to an impartial

jury. • Under the test, a constitutional violation  occurs if (1) a distinctive group is not fairly and

reasonably  represented  in  the  jury  pool  in  relation  to  its  population  in  the  community,  (2)  the

underrepresentation  is  the  result  of  a  systematic  exclusion  of  the  group  from  the  jury-selection

process, and (3) the government cannot reasonably justify the discrepancy. Duren v. Missouri, 439

U.S.    357,    99    S.Ct.    664    (1979).    See    FAIR-CROSS-SECTION     REQUIREMENT;

STATISTICAL-DECISION THEORY; ABSOLUTE DISPARITY; COMPARATIVE DISPARITY.

[Cases: Jury    33(1.1). C.J.S. Juries §§ 269–273, 279, 306.] [Blacks Law 8th]