Washington State Jury Commission

Acknowledgments

The Commission acknowledges the debt we owe to the commissions who paved the way for our jury reform efforts, particularly those in Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, and New York. We were fortunate in having respected jury reform experts, Judge B. Michael Dann of the Superior Court of Arizona, and Mr. G. Thomas Munsterman, Director of the Center for Jury Studies, as the featured presenters at our inaugural meeting. The information they imparted to our members based on their experiences provided us with invaluable groundwork for our efforts. We were fortunate in being able to refer to current research provided by Washington State University, including surveys of judges and jurors in our state completed just as the Commission began its work. We would like to compliment the District of Columbia Jury Project for its clear and concise reporting format. We liked it so much that we adopted a similar format for our own report.

The Chair also thanks Ms. Julia Appel, Mr. Robert Henderson, and Mr. Richard Neidhardt from the Office of the Administrator for the Courts for their excellent staff work. The structure and focus they provided for the Commission's work, as well as their technical input and background research, were exemplary.