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Under Juror No. 120's Rock

Posted in Jury on Thursday August 12 2010 @ 3:37pm

A white man. He has applied to the College of DuPage for the fall. Worked in computer sales at Best Buy. Mother is in the Army. He is undecided on what he wants to do in life, but he likes to play sports and video games and hang out with friends. He couldn't recall having heard anything about the case.

-- A Closer Look at the Blagojevich Jurors, Redeye (July 29, 2010). Hat/tip to Mr. Flannery for the souvenir paper in which this appeared.

Everybody Loves Retirement...

Posted in Jury on Monday July 19 2010 @ 8:30pm

...just not today!

That's pretty much how we feel about the news (sad for us, yay for him) that G.* Thomas Munsterman is retiring.

And in case you didn't know, the title and beginning are a paraphrase of his famous phrase: Everybody loves jury duty, just not today!

For decades, Tom has been THE jury expert in the world. He helped numerous cities, counties, states, and countries ensure that juries are done right.

Without Tom there would be few if any jury managers in the courts. Without jury managers, lists are in disarray, methods are haphazard (or nonexistent), and juries can end up racially, economically, and otherwise imbalanced.

Without Tom there never ever would have been a Jur-E Bulletin. Without the Jur-E Bulletin there never ever ever would have been a court-o-rama.

Here's the obligatory bio, but it just doesn't seem like enough somehow. It's not enough to lead various interesting projects -- Tom's engineering mind made sure he followed through on each one, sharing ideas and learning new ones all the time from a wide variety of sources. That's why, as we said in each issue of Jur-E, Theory to practice (and vice-versa) was so important to him. Nowhere in the bio does it mention that Tom was one of the most fun and innovative people at NCSC, ever.

Mahalo Tom, and good luck cleaning out your basement!!!!!!! We hear that everybody loves a clean basement, just not...oh, never mind.

* We have long maintained that the G stands for Guru.

Happy 4th of Jury

Posted in Jury on Monday July 05 2010 @ 8:13am

No, that's not a typo. As Guru Thomas Munsterman is fond of reminding people, one of the grievances of the colonists against the king was For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury...

Is it possible that the founding fathers could have imagined that a few hundred years later we'd be going to great lengths to abolish our own right to a jury trial? Buying the myth that we're too litigious, looking for judicial hellholes in all the wrong places, and generally mocking those who protect us.

So just do it. Yes it's already Monday but it's too hot to go out and it's still early, so just read it already!

Jurors Online

Posted in Jury on Thursday May 27 2010 @ 7:28pm

They must not be USC fans. Otherwise, this South Carolina jury would have found cockfighting not only legal, but required. Instead, the case is being held up due to juror misconduct. See Judge Probes Misconduct in South Carolina Cockfighting Trial, AP/SunNews.com (May 27, 2010).

Meanwhile, the Ohio State Bar Association has spiffy new techno-warnings for jurors. See New Jury Instruction Addresses New Media Concerns, SCO (May 26, 2010), and Ohio State Bar Association Releases New Guidelines for Jury Instructions, (wait, didn't we just say that?) Pat Galbincea, Plain Dealer (May 26, 2010).

The lesson? It's really the same as it's ever been -- no outside research, be it World Book or Wikipedia.

Why Does Franklin County Heart Jury Service?

Posted in Jury on Monday May 24 2010 @ 8:30pm

Recently we posted a happy note from a juror who had served in Franklin County, Ohio (Columbus).

Why is she so happy? Franklin County Municipal Court Jury Administrator Tom Shields explains:

I started implementing changes [to the jury system] back in 1985 due to the fact that only 23% of the jurors summoned were actually reporting for service, and therefore the demographic representation was obviously not where it should be. We knew we had to change, but frankly were not sure what to do to correct this problem.

This is a typical jury administration problem with no easy short-term solution. Shields went straight to the jurors -- to find out what they thought might help us to improve.

The jurors' verdict? Actually, the solutions were there, and according to Shields, were simple and easy to incorporate. For example:

Reporting times: Jurors have the option of checking in between 8 and 10:30 a.m. or at 1:30 p.m. If they are empaneled, the judge lets them know when to reconvene. Before this change, jurors had to report by 9:00 a.m. with no accommodation as to when they were actually needed. The change is popular -- 40% of the jurors report at the 1:30 slot. Unless assigned to voir dire, they can be on their merry way by 3:00 p.m.

Guest speakers and tours: Q&A sessions with local government luminaries such as the county treasurer, county auditor (so he's more than just a name on a gas pump to the public), and a magistrate are popular. Jurors may also tour the state supreme court, statehouse, and jail.

Current DVDs: Shields says they pick their entertainment. Great way to pass the time!

Love Letters from a Juror

Posted in Jury on Saturday May 22 2010 @ 9:50am

Why do Franklin County (Ohio) Municipal Court jurors love jury service? Here's a letter from one such juror to the jury commissioner Tom Shields --

Hi, Tom.

I wanted to say thank you for being so flexible. I was originally requested to appear for jury service March 22-April 2. Because of a conflict, I called to reschedule. Debbie was very helpful, although I was having a difficult time finding two weeks that would work for me due to job obligations. Debbie worked with me and reduced my time to one week, which was May 3-7.

From my point of view, the beta test you are doing is a success! I appreciated having the flexibility to come in later (although I didn’t), and the fact that you were upfront and understanding about the parking and construction issues helped ease my mind. It was also interesting to be able to observe courtrooms and listen to Judge Sheward. Thanks also for the computer area—I was able to get some work done throughout the week. The entire experience far exceeded my expectations.

Thanks again—

Dime a Dozen

Posted in Jury on Sunday March 07 2010 @ 7:03pm

We're pretty sure we get a dime every time this happens.

If only we got a dime every time we wrote about it -- we would be blogging from our own private island courthouse!

The Peace of Summons

Posted in Jury on Saturday March 06 2010 @ 8:01pm

We read a lot of letters praising jury service for its ability to promote patriotism, the rule of law, and education of the public about the legal system.

We've also seen voir-dire-is-stranger-than-fiction letters, full of women giving birth in the jury room, jurors falling in love, or jurors who gather together on a regular basis long after their service is complete.

It's not often one comes across such a nice letter as this: Jury Duty a Reminder of Slowing Down, by Tina Wocher, Cincinnati Enquirer (March 4, 2010).

New VMA Category: Juror Orientation Videos!

Posted in Jury on Monday September 21 2009 @ 6:22pm

OK, not really, but we can dream...

New Mexico courts have a new online juror orientation video. It could also be used by teachers -- very informative! Beginning with a montage of photos of New Mexican courthouses (in which they try public officials for making crooked courthouse construction deals), the video goes on to cover history of jury trials, our jury-related Constitutional rights, evidentiary standards, and procedure.

Nervous! Interested! Educational! Scared to death! Real jurors (they are even listed in the credits) share their thoughts about selection and service.

You may ask: Why is there a close-captioned Spanish version available? Aren't jurors required to know English? Watch the video to learn the answer.

Forget Miss Swift* and Beyonce, we think the New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts should get its very own moonman!

Thanks to our mole in the Land of Enchantment for the tip!

* She's basically Hannah Montana. -- son of court-o-rama

Happy Holidays

Posted in Jury on Thursday September 17 2009 @ 7:06pm

Happy Constitution Day!

In honor thereof: fight for your 7th Amendment rights. We're highlighting the 7th not because it's more important or better for our lawyer friends than the others, but because it is the one Amendment nobody seems to love. It's the paschal lamb of all political parties, every side of the health care debate, most discussions about the economy, and several private arbitrators (some of whom have dollar signs for eyes).

A good read: The Seventh Amendment, Modern Procedure and the English Common Law, Suja Thomas, Washington University Law Quarterly, vol. 82, p. 687 (2004).

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