Calling jurors “full partners in court proceedings” and recognizing their “profound impact” on the state, the Tennessee Supreme Court has issued a proclamation designating May as Juror Appreciation Month.
“Jury trials have been part of Anglo-American law for centuries, having been guaranteed in England by the Magna Carta,” Chief Justice Frank F. Drowota, III, said. “Some aspects of jury service have changed over the centuries. For example, racial and gender discrimination on juries has ended, and juries now reflect our diverse society, but the vital role of jurors in the justice system remains as important today as it has been for centuries. Like voting, jury service provides citizens with an opportunity for direct participation in our government.”
Tennessee’s Juror Appreciation Month begins May 1 on National Law Day, sponsored by the American Bar Association. The theme for this year’s ABA project is “The American Jury: We the People in Action.”
The right to trial by jury is guaranteed in by both the federal and state constitutions and was among the guarantees in the first Tennessee Constitution of 1796. In “A History of the Tennessee Supreme Court,” published in 2002 by the University of Tennessee Press, the authors wrote that throughout its history, the state Supreme Court “frequently sought to preserve the fairness of the jury system.”
The Supreme Court proclamation, signed by Drowota, says the jury system reinforces the belief that “everyday people can make the right decisions and that we are an open, democratic government . . .”
“I urge the judiciary, attorneys, Bar associations, citizens, schools, businesses and media of Tennessee to use this occasion to dedicate themselves to the preservation and strengthening of the jury system and to expressing appreciation for those Tennesseans who answer the call to jury service,” the court said in its proclamation.