Washington State Jury Commission

Protecting Juror Privacy

Recommendation 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.

Recommendation 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.

Recommendation 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.