| Increasing Summons Response: |
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| 1. |
A variety of procedures should be developed to address the concerns of those citizens unwilling to participate in jury service. Follow-up procedures should be developed for courts to use where there is no response to a jury summons.
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| 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.
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| 3. |
The format of the addresses in the jury source list databases should be standardized before the databases are combined. The correct county code should be assigned to the licensing data.
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| 4. |
The combined list should be processed through a National Change of Address program in order to obtain updated address information before mailing.
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| 5. |
The rules of general application relating to jury source lists should be modified to eliminate license and identicard holder records that have been expired for more than 90 days and to specify that only "active" registered voter records be considered for use in jury source lists.
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| 6. |
The timing of the jury source list process should be re-examined to enable jurisdictions to perform their annual draw while the list data is still current.
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| 7. |
All undeliverable and changed address information gathered by the courts should be delivered to the Department of Licensing as well as to county election departments for processing. The Department of Licensing and county auditors should use this information for database corrections. County clerks should be encouraged to create suspense files for chronic non-deliverable addresses.
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| Accommodating Citizens Called to Jury Service: |
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| 8. |
Courts should require jury service for the shortest period possible. Therefore, the statute should be amended to shorten the jury term to a maximum of one week and jury service to a maximum of two days or one trial.
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| 9. |
Jurors should be provided with full and complete information about jury service from the time they are summoned.
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| 10. |
In order to promote broad citizen participation and to send a message that courts respect the time commitments of citizens, a state-wide policy should be established to enforce and strictly limit the granting of jury excuses while liberally granting requests for postponement.
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| 11. |
RCW 2.36.070 should be amended to include a pilot project allowing non-English-speaking citizens to serve on a jury with the aid of a certified interpreter.
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| 12. |
The Commission views a fee increase as its highest priority. Citizens required to perform jury service should be compensated fairly and appropriately. Legislation should be drafted requiring that current fees be raised, with the increase funded by the state. Local jurisdictions are encouraged to provide or pay for transportation and parking. Jurors could donate their fees and expenses to a court jury improvement fund.
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| 13. |
Courts should make every effort to utilize jurors efficiently. They should avoid calling more citizens to the court facility for jury service than needed.
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| 14. |
Each court should maintain adequate facilities for jurors with the appropriate seating, work space, rest rooms, light, and temperature control necessary to facilitate jury selection and deliberations. Special consideration should be given to jurors with disabilities or other special needs. Courts must make every effort to provide the appropriate facilities to accommodate these needs.
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| 15. |
Amenities to improve the experience of jury service should be provided wherever possible.
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| 16. |
At the start of a jury trial, the judge should inform the jurors of the court's normal working hours, as well as the working hours that could be expected during deliberations. The judge should determine whether the jurors have any special needs that justify setting different times.
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| 17. |
Judges and court personnel should assist jurors to handle the stress that may be caused by jury service.
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| Protecting Juror Privacy: |
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| 18. |
Judges should have discretion to balance a party's interest or right to know any particular information about a juror with the juror's privacy interest. Judges must exercise discretion to balance jurors' privacy interests with those of the general public.
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| 19. |
The juror summons should provide useful information to the potential juror and require of the juror only that information mandated by statute. A standardized summons form should be created for use and modification by any jurisdiction.
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| 20. |
The court should try to protect jurors from unreasonable and unnecessary intrusions into their privacy during jury selection. In appropriate cases, the trial court should submit written questionnaires to potential jurors regarding information that they may be embarrassed to disclose before other jurors. Before dismissing jurors from service on a trial, the court should inform jurors of their rights to discuss or refrain from discussing the case.
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| Improving Jury Selection Procedures: |
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| 21. |
Trial courts should make available to attorneys a written statement of the court's standard practices for jury selection. The court's standard practices should ensure that the parties have a full opportunity to select a fair jury while avoiding undue and unreasonable juror discomfort and embarrassment.
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| 22. |
The judge should give prospective jurors a brief and neutral description of the case after consulting with the parties and before jury selection. The description should be sufficiently detailed to assist jurors in answering questions during jury selection and while performing their duties. The judge should advise the jury that the description represents the contentions of the parties and does not imply the court's view on the merits of the case.
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| 23. |
A party should raise any Batson objections to the opposing party's peremptory challenges before the jury is impaneled. The court should exercise its discretionary power to raise Batson objections on its own motion. Batson challenges, and objections to these challenges, should be handled outside the jurors' presence.
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| 24. |
Alternate jurors should be told that they are alternates at the beginning of the trial.
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| Improving the Trial Process for Jurors: |
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| 25. |
Trial judges should set reasonable overall time limits for each party at trial. To set time limits, the court should consider among other factors: the number of witnesses; the number and complexity of issues; the respective evidentiary burdens of the parties; the nature of evidence to be presented; the feasibility of shortening trial by stipulations; and pre-admitting exhibits.
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| 26. |
Judges should encourage all trial participants to use plain language likely to be understood by the jury. Judges should also take steps to minimize juror confusion.
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| 27. |
In both civil and criminal cases, after the jury is impaneled, the judge should instruct the jurors as to the basic elements of the claims, charges, and defenses. The judge must inform the jurors that the instructions are preliminary only and that their deliberations must be governed by the final instructions.
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| 28. |
When the procedure will assist jurors, the court should distribute place cards, name tags, or seating charts identifying parties, witnesses, counsel, and other pertinent individuals in the courtroom.
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| 29. |
Court rules should be amended to allow jurors to take notes in every case, regardless of the length or complexity of the trial. Jurors should be permitted to review their own notes in the jury room during recesses.
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| 30. |
Juror notebooks should be provided in lengthy or complex cases and in other cases at the judge's discretion. The notebooks should contain information that will help jurors perform their duties, such as preliminary instructions, a summary of claims and defenses, and copies of key exhibits.
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| 31. |
Exhibits and depositions should be marked and admitted to the greatest extent feasible before potential jurors are conducted to the courtroom for jury selection.
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| 32. |
When a witness appears by written or videotaped deposition, the testimony proposed for admission should be identified and objections to admission resolved before potential jurors arrive at the courtroom. When deposition testimony is read to the jury, each juror should be provided, to the extent feasible, with a redacted transcript of the testimony for the juror's use during the reading. Redactions should not be apparent to the jury.
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| 33. |
In every case, jurors should be permitted to submit written clarifying questions to witnesses, subject to careful judicial supervision. The decision of whether to permit a question rests with the judge, although counsel retain the right to object to the scope or content of any specific question. Jurors are not permitted to ask oral questions. The rules of civil procedure and criminal procedure should be amended accordingly.
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| 34. |
In long trials, the court should consider allowing periodic mini-opening statements to improve juror understanding.
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| 35. |
To the greatest extent feasible, each juror should be given a copy of the jury instructions before oral instruction by the court.
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| 36. |
Jury instructions should be readily comprehensible by jurors. They should be case specific and stated in plain language. The number and length of instructions should be reduced to a minimum.
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| Improving the Deliberating Process: |
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| 37. |
Washington's Pattern Jury Instructions should provide jurors with suggested deliberation procedures. The suggested procedures should include selecting a presiding juror, organizing the discussion, encouraging full participation by all jurors, handling disagreements, and taking votes.
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| 38. |
Trial judges should make every effort to respond fully and fairly to questions from deliberating jurors. Judges should not merely refer them to the instructions without further comment or tell them to rely upon their memories of the evidence. In doing so, judges should be careful not to pressure the jury or state or imply any view of the case's merits.
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| 39. |
The final jury instructions should explain the procedures for requesting clarification of instructions. The judge should advise the jury to submit any questions about instructions in writing to the bailiff.
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| 40. |
When a jury question arises during deliberations regarding the evidence, the judge should notify the parties or their counsel of the question. The judge should read the question and solicit comments regarding the appropriate response. The response and any objections to it should be made a part of the record. This process should be mandated by court rule.
The judge should, after consulting with the parties or counsel, respond to all jury questions, even if the response is no more than a directive to rely upon their memories of the evidence. The court may allow the jury to review evidence (e.g., replaying audio or video tapes) if such review is not unfairly prejudicial to either party. The court may grant a jury's request to rehear or replay trial testimony, but should do so in a way that is least likely to constitute a comment on the evidence and that minimizes the possibility that jurors will give undue weight to the selected testimony.
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| 41. |
When deliberating jurors in a civil case report that they cannot reach a verdict, the judge should take additional steps after confirming that the jury is, in fact, deadlocked. The judge should invite the jury to state, in writing, the points of law or evidence upon which it cannot agree and desires help. The judge should discuss the jury's response with counsel before deciding how to proceed. The judge can provide additional instructions, permit additional closing arguments, reread or replay testimony, reopen the trial for more evidence, or allow a combination of these. In communicating with jurors, the judge must avoid any appearance of coercing a verdict.
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| After the Trial: |
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| 42. |
The trial judge may specially schedule the time for the verdict announcement in cases in which the judge is concerned about security or widespread public reaction to the verdict.
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| 43. |
Courts should administer an anonymous questionnaire to a representative sample of people called for jury service to monitor juror reaction to jury service and to identify areas of juror dissatisfaction.
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| Declaration of Principles for Jury Service: |
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| 44. |
A Declaration of Principles for Jury Service should be posted in each court facility as a reminder of the importance of the jury's role in the judicial system and to ensure that jurors are treated with respect. |
