
Just Juries: Balancing the Scales of the Jury Box
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In this session, presenters will share strategies for educating communities about the significance of jury service, the benefits of diverse juries, and the concept of jury nullification.

Porsha-Shaf’on Venable
Deputy Director
The Juror Project
Born, raised and still residing in the Bronx, Porsha-Shaf’on received her J.D. from California Western School of Law and her MSW from New York University School of Social Work. She initially worked at Bronx Defenders as a Forensic Social Worker. During Law school, she then returned to Bronx Defenders as a Law Clerk and after law school, she was a Staff Attorney in the criminal defense practice, the Adolescent Defense Project and a Team Leader. In 2017, she joined the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem as a Staff Attorney. In October 2017, she returned to the Bronx Defenders for the fourth time in her career. She is currently a Supervising Attorney.
Porsha-Shaf’on has facilitated many conversations and conducted trainings on showing up as your Blackest self in the courtroom, cross examination, jury selection and jury nullification at public defense agencies across the country like the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Black Public Defenders Association, the National Association of Public Defenders, and the National Council (FREEHER). While few people get excited about jury duty, Porsha-Shaf’on believes community members are missing an opportunity: jury duty is not only a unique and give civic right, it’s a quiet but important lever for change in our legal system. More than training on the importance of sitting on a jury, Porsha-Shaf’on is obsessed with making jury nullification the next big thing–a power that all jurors have and should be encouraged to use.