Connie Clark, administrative director of Tennessee courts, has been named to the American Bar Association’s Blue Ribbon Commission on the American Jury. Clark was appointed by incoming ABA President Robert J. Grey, Jr., who announced an initiative aimed at bolstering interest in jury service and reversing declining response rates to jury summonses.
“Aptly, since Tennessee is the Volunteer State, jury service is not generally viewed here as a burden, but rather as a responsibility we have as citizens,” Clark said. “In some areas of the nation, though, there are juror shortages even though a new ABA public opinion poll shows that Americans believe in and trust the system.”
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is honorary chair of the commission, which is co-chaired by Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye of New York, Chicago attorney Alexander (Manny) Sanchez and Professor Oscar H. Criner of Texas Southern University. The commission’s goal is to promote appreciation of the jury system and encourage participation. The commission also will encourage the Bar and courts to implement jury service reforms.
“If we are to improve the response rate to summonses, we must work to strengthen Americans’ understanding that the system they so respect works only when they are actively involved.” Grey said, announcing creation of the commission.
He also said a new American Jury Project will produce a single set of updated jury standards the ABA can propose as a model.
In the ABA poll, 58 percent said jury service is a privilege and responsibility they look forward to fulfilling and 75 percent said they would want a jury to decide their case if they were involved in a trial. Grey said the numbers were higher among those who had performed jury service.
Clark said jury reforms already have been implemented in Tennessee, although other changes may be made in the future to make jury service as “convenient and stress-free as possible.”
“In 2003, the Tennessee Supreme Court made a number of rule changes based on recommendations by the Tennessee Bar Association Jury Reform Commission, “ she said. “That commission was created in 1998 to evaluate jury procedures in the state.”
Rule changes adopted by the Tennessee Supreme Court to improve conditions for jurors included:
* Pretrial conferences may be held to expedite trial proceedings and ensure that jurors’ time is used most efficiently.
* Individual, rather than collective, questioning of prospective jurors may be done when appropriate for efficient jury selection
* At or near the beginning of jury selection, judges introduce themselves and inform potential jurors of the general nature of the case.
* During trials, judges may permit lawyers to address jurors to help them understand evidence already presented or to be presented.
* Jurors may take notes during trial and deliberations and are provided with note-taking materials.
* Jurors may submit written questions for witnesses. Jurors’ questions are anonymous and are asked at the judge’s discretion.
* In trials with conflicting expert testimony, courts may reorder testimony to make it easier for jurors to understand and evaluate.