Current Trends in Jury Management

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Current Trends in Jury Management

• JEM Forum
• 2007 Fall Conference
• October 19, 2007

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Whats New in the World of Jury?

• NCSC State-of-the States Survey of Jury
  Improvement Effort
• Compendium Report released in April 2007
• Available at www.ncsconline.org/D_Research/cjs/
• Click on State Survey tab
• U.S. Postal Service releases Jury Service Stamp
• Celebrity-studded unveiling in NYC on September
  12, 2007
• Jury Stamp paraphernalia available from U.S.
  Alliance, Inc. at www.ipledge.com or
  541-330-6282.

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And at the NCSC

• Update on Tom Munsterman
• Still working, but only on fun projects
• Third grandchild on the way
• Keeping house while Janice takes the reins of the
  State Justice Institute
• Jur-E Bulletin
• Founding Editor Anne Skove moves to Cincinnati,
  Ohio
• NCSC hires Greg Hurley to assume editorial duties
  effective Jan. 1, 2008

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Current and Noteworthy Trends

• Advances in automation
• Increases in jury challenges
• Well-prepared, credible, and in some instances,
  legitimate
• Renewed attention to court performance measures

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Online and IVR Communication with Jurors

• 55 of U.S. households have Internet access (US
  Census Bureau, 2003)
• 96 of U.S. households have a telephone
• In general, courts have been slow to adopt
  Internet and IVR technology for jury management
  purposes
• 11 permit jurors to submit qualification
  information online, 8 via IVR
• 11 post juror reporting information online
• 20 post orientation information online

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Informal NCSC Survey of Juror Use of Online
Qualification Access

• Anecdotal reports of success stories
• E.g., Travis County (Austin), TX
• 60 of all summonses, 90 of all qualified jurors
• Wisconsin courts
• Statewide average 12
• Range less than 2 to 35
• Other jurisdictions average 25 to 35

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Making Online Qualification Work Factors to
Consider

• Community characteristics how wired are the
  jurors in your community?
• Website functionality
• What can jurors do (or not do) online?
• How easy is it for them to do it?
• Procedural requirements learning to let go of
  paper
• Formal/informal incentives

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Navigating the Census Bureau website
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Census Data

• Decennial Census conducted every 10 years per
  U.S. Constitution, Art. 1, Sec. 2
• Actual count of individuals residing in the U.S.
• Residence, age, gender, race, ethnicity,
  household relationship
• Long Form data based on statistical sample of
  households
• American Community Survey annual survey of 1/6
  households
• Will replace U.S. Census Long Form in 2010
• Citizenship, ancestry, English proficiency,
  income, occupation, homeownership, employment,
  other socio-economic characteristics, etc.

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A Word About Zip Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTA)
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Estimating Hispanic Eligibility for Jury Service

• Sex by Age by Citizenship Status
• ACS Table B05003(I)
• Citizenship for other races (e.g., Asian), see
  ACS Table B05003(A-H)
• Language Spoken at Home by Ability to Speak
  English for the Population 5 Years and Over
• ACS Table B16006

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Two Estimates Stanislaus County
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Mobility and Undeliverable Summonses
81
14
5
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Performance Measuresfor Jury Operations

• How hard do you have to work before the first
  juror walks through the door?
• And the next juror?
• And the juror after that?

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Jury Yield
California State-of-the-States Survey Data
10,265,870
19
17
2

• Jury Yield
• Waive-off (cancellation) rate

9 to 22
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Unk.
6
2
44
58
2,258,491 to 3,593,055
22 to 35
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Juror Utilization Measures
Overall Juror Use for California 5 to 11 of
jurors summonsed
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