Indigenous people "very rarely" sit on a jury in South Australia despite being over-represented in the criminal justice system, a report has found.
Research led by the South Australian Law Reform Institute (SALRI) considered the "complex" and "multi-faceted" reasons behind an "acute lack" of indigenous jurors.
In the report, published by the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration Limited, SALRI made 34 recommendations to improve participation for the state's Attorney-General to consider.
The report found the key issues included electoral enrolment, criminal history disqualifications and cultural safety.
"Even potential Indigenous jurors are 'very rare' in Port Augusta, despite the fact that about a quarter of the local community are Indigenous."
SALRI director John Williams said being judged by a jury of your peers was a crucial facet of the justice system.
"Experienced criminal lawyers, experienced judicial officers, experienced members of the Aboriginal community say that they cannot recall moments where anybody is being called … that should give us concern," he said.
Scope for change
Mr Williams said the current practice of solely using the electoral role to summon people for jury duty was problematic, given the under-enrolment of Indigenous voters.
The report raised the idea of using enrolment data from SA's First Nations Voice to Parliament as a supplementary source for future juror selections.
The most recent Voice election was held in March to elect an indigenous advisory body to parliament but was beset with organisational issues, including reports of voters being turned away.
"This is unique in the country and the opportunity to use the electoral role of the Voice as part of a general role for choosing the people for jury, that's an initiative that no other state has," Mr Williams said.
SALRI cited criminal history as a significant reason for why Indigenous people were disqualified from jury duty, and said the grounds for exclusions in SA were "too broad and lack a coherent basis."
"It's not clear to me that if someone has a bad driving record, they wouldn't be able to turn their mind to sophisticated questions about whether someone's innocent or not."
SALRI deputy director David Plater said the style and content of a jury summons was seen as "formal" and "threatening" and needed to be revised.
"Many people, not just Aboriginal people, when you receive a jury summons, ask yourself, am I in trouble?" he said.
The report also recommended criminal District Court circuits be extended beyond Port Augusta and Mount Gambier to include areas with a significant Indigenous populations such as Port Lincoln and Berri, subject to financial and infrastructure constraints.
Consultation needed
Chief executive of the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement Klyton Wanganeen said the under-representation impacted Indigenous people standing trial.
"The first thing is that they're not sure of the system, they look at all the faces and there's nothing there that they would make them feel at ease," he said.
Mr Wanganeen said he would like to see Indigenous jury representation bolstered, but only if it was a free choice and that any law changes must be accompanied with consultation in communities.
"I wouldn't like Aboriginal people to be forced to sit on a jury. I'd like them to make up their own mind because there's a number of risks associated with Aboriginal people who may be on a jury," he said.
Mr Wanganeen said cultural issues could arise around judging someone from a different indigenous cultural group.
"Having people judged by a jury that an Aboriginal person is on, it's not hard to find their identity, their address and those types of things."
"Our people would feel uncomfortable making a decision that leads to a really hefty penalty for an Aboriginal person, bearing in mind they [the jury] don't impose the penalty."
In a statement, Attorney-General Kyam Maher said the government would carefully consider the report's findings and recommendations and respond "in due course".
"Juries should be representative of the communities they serve and we know that there are barriers to Indigenous participation in juries in SA," he said.
