NEWS RELEASE
The National
Center for State Courts
300 Newport Avenue · Williamsburg, Virginia 23185
Contact:
Lorri Montgomery
Communications Manager
The National Center for State Courts
757.259.1525 or lmontgomery@ncsc.dni.us
Juror
Frustrations Addressed
in National Program to Improve the Jury System
May
21, 2004
Noon to 2 p.m.
Davis Polk & Wardwell
450 Lexington Ave., New York, NY
Williamsburg, VA
(May 13, 2004) – In some of the most recent high-profile court
cases, juror tensions dominated the headlines more than the cases
themselves. Consider the recent mistrial in the Tyco International Ltd.
case – a result of extensive media coverage of one juror, which
followed very contentious, very public juror deliberations.
The Tyco case and others have highlighted some of the most
critical issues confronting our nation’s jury system: juror privacy,
juror frustration, low pay, and complex, lengthy cases.
What impact are these
notorious trials and jury service in general having on potential jurors,
and what can the courts do to address these problems? These are
questions the New York courts, under the leadership of Chief Judge of
the New York Court of Appeals Judith S. Kaye, and the National Center
for State Courts (NCSC), through its Center for Jury Studies, were
researching long before the headlines hit.
Chief Judge Kaye will
introduce the National Program to Increase Citizen Participation in Jury
Service Through Jury Innovations on May 21 at an event sponsored by the
NCSC in New York City. Kaye will discuss jury innovations in New York
courts. A panel discussion will follow featuring—
- Robert
J. Grey Jr., president-elect of the American Bar Association and a
partner in the Richmond, Va. office of Hunton & Williams. Grey
will make juries a major focus of his term as the ABA’s president.
- Mark
Zauderer, chair of New York’s Commission on the Jury, and a
partner with the New York firm of Piper Rudnick. Zauderer was
extensively quoted during the Tyco case.
- G.
Thomas Munsterman, director of the NCSC’s Center for Jury Studies.
Munsterman is co-author of Managing Notorious Trials and
co-editor of Jury Trial Innovations.
The media is invited to
attend. To register, please call Lorri Montgomery, NCSC communications
manager, 757-259-1525.
The National Jury
Program to Increase Citizen Participation in Jury Service is headed by
the NCSC in collaboration with the Council for Court Excellence in
Washington, D.C. The national program will advance citizen outreach and
education about the jury system and lead structural improvements inside
and outside the courtroom. The program includes several innovations,
including: one day/one trial terms of service, increasing juror pay,
allowing jurors to take notes during trial and submit questions to
witnesses, giving juror instructions at the outset of the trial and
making them more comprehensible, and letting juries talk about the
evidence before their formal deliberations.
The National Center for
State Courts is a non-profit court reform organization dedicated to
improving the administration of justice by providing leadership and
service to the state courts. The NCSC, founded in 1971 with the
encouragement of Chief Justice of the United States Warren E. Burger,
provides research, technology, education, and training to the nation’s
state courts. The NCSC also is taking the lead on several key issues
facing the justice system. For example, it has established a major civil
justice initiative, a multi-year project that is examining best
practices in civil case management and how complex litigation procedures
can be improved. Other national initiatives being driven by the National
Center include improving public trust and confidence in the courts and
improving the judicial selection process.
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