Civil Rights Act of 1957: Women's Service on Federal Juries

In the United States, the Civil Rights Act of 1957 provided that women could serve on juries in federal courts even in states that did not permit women to serve on juries in state courts. For the first time, federal courts had uniform qualifications for jurors. Also for the first time, women could serve as federal jurors regardless of state practice. This change in the law was initiated by the Judicial Conference, the policy‐making body for the federal judiciary, because federal judges saw the need for uniform qualifications for federal jurors and a large pool from which to draw competent federal jurors.