Washington State Courts - Jury Commission

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eService Center

Increasing Summons Response

2	EVERY OPPORTUNITY SHOULD BE TAKEN TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ON THE IMPORTANCE OF JURY SERVICE AND TO INCREASE DIVERSITY ON JURIES BY EXTENSIVE OUTREACH TO TARGETED COMMUNITIES. THE IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE SHOULD COORDINATE EFFORTS TO ACCOMPLISH THIS.
Misconceptions about Jury Duty	The arrival of a jury summons in the mailbox is rarely greeted with enthusiasm: jury duty is inconvenient; it interferes with work; it does not pay well and may cause a loss of income; and it sometimes means waiting in a less than congenial or comfortable environment. Surprisingly, however, citizens who have served on a jury in the past are rarely reluctant to serve again. Jurors are positive about their service and usually find the experience rewarding. They generally come away with a positive attitude towards the justice system.
	Citizens who have not served before may lack this positive attitude due to a misunderstanding of what jury duty really entails. It is important, therefore, to reach out to the large percentage of the public that has never served on a jury and provide them with as much information as possible about the reality of jury duty.
Diversity in Jury Service	Every effort should be made to reach out to all segments of the population. Diversity in jury service increases the twin goals of recognizing that all citizens have equal rights and responsibilities and making the jury system as fair as possible. However, there is a perception that jury service has been reserved for certain segments of our society. This misperception both increases alienation of the excluded segments and increases resentment by those who believe they are summoned too many times. Accordingly, special efforts should be made to increase the participation in jury service by sectors of society that traditionally have not participated fully, particularly young people and minority communities.
	Various strategies would include educational campaigns targeting high school students, new citizens, and minority communities. In addition to traditional educational methods, creative advertising campaigns would target media that cater to youth.

Committee
to Create
Jury-Related
Materials

The Commission’s implementation committee should oversee the development of a variety of jury-related materials. Those materials would augment the efforts of the many existing committees currently undertaking outreach and education programs, such as:

The Council on Public Legal Education, a Washington Bar Association committee;
Judges In The Classroom, a program which pairs judges with teachers to present lesson plans from grade school to high school;
Law Week 2000, a program coordinated by the Washington State Bar Association to promote public legal education in Washington Schools;
Public Legal Education Workgroup, an organization which is developing a comprehensive plan to educate and involve the people of Washington in the law and justice system;
Public Trust and Confidence Committee, a group made up of legislators, the bar and the judiciary, which includes a subcommittee called Judiciary And The Media;
State of Washington Minority and Justice Commission, a state commission that takes steps to overcome or prevent racial bias in the justice system;
The Access to Justice Board, a state board established by the Washington State Supreme Court at the request of the Washington State Bar Association’s board of governors;
Washington State Supreme Court Gender and Justice Commission, a state committee to promote gender equality in the law and justice system;
We The People, a national program from the Center for Civic Education teaching K-12 students about the Constitution and government;
YMCA Mock Trial Competition, a program in which high school students portray a cast of courtroom characters.

Juror
Appreciation
Week

In addition, jury service can be promoted in the following ways:
Washington State’s annual Juror Appreciation Week should be more extensively promoted. Not only should all courts take the opportunity to thank jurors for their service, but they should also organize a variety of events during that week to heighten public awareness.

Public tours of the courts and public attendance at jury trials should be promoted and encouraged.

Public Service
Campaigns

Public service campaigns should promote jury duty using a variety of media including radio, television, newspapers, and other means of public advertising, such as public transit, schools, court facilities, and local stores.

Media partnerships should be encouraged to provide low-cost advertising space to publicize jury service. As an example, the publication of the Judicial Voter Pamphlet could alternate with the publication of a biennial tab educating the public about the justice system and including information concerning jury service.

Business and Labor
Support

Business and labor support should be encouraged at every opportunity. The judiciary should work with local Chambers of Commerce to publish articles in their bulletins, and with labor unions to publish information on labor web pages and in local union halls. Local businesses who pay their employees during jury service should be publicly acknowledged and thanked by the courts. Certificates thanking local businesses could be provided for display on their bulletin boards.

References:
David C. Brody, et al., Juror Survey Results, 1998-1999, p. ii (jurors have a very positive impression of the jury system, see Appendix 9).
Arizona Supreme Court Committee on More Effective Use of Juries, Jurors: The Power of 12, pp. 33-36 (proposing a broad array of public, bar and other private educational programs).
District of Columbia Jury Project, Juries for the Year 2000 and Beyond: Proposals to Improve the Jury Systems in Washington D.C., p. 6 (1998) (proposing educating citizenry about juries and jury service).
G. Thomas Munsterman, et al., Jury Trial Innovations, pp. 25-28 (discussing citizen education campaigns about jury service).