U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

EVALUATING JURY SELECTION, UTILIZATION, AND MANAGEMENT

NCJ Number
64557
Journal
State Court Journal Volume: 4 Issue: 1 Dated: (WINTER 1980) Pages: 9-14,4348
Author(s)
I KEILITZ; L R CAVINESS
Date Published
1980
Length
12 pages
Annotation
THIS ARTICLE SUMMARIZES THE RESULTS OF THE JUROR UTILIZATION AND MANAGEMENT DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM EVALUATION. DURING THE PROGRAM, 18 STATE COURTS RECEIVED LEAA GRANTS TO IMPROVE JURY OPERATIONS.
Abstract
THE PROGRAM SOUGHT TO DEMONSTRATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MODERN JURY UTILIZATION AND MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THE 18 PARTICIPATING COURTS WAS TO DEVELOP A DEFENSIBLE, IMPROVED JURY SYSTEM THAT WOULD BE RESPONSIVE TO THE COURT AND THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM WITH MINIMUM COST TO THE COMMUNITY. THE COURTS ATTEMPTED TO DEMONSTRATE SPECIFIC IMPROVEMENTS IN JURY UTILIZATION AND MANAGEMENT IN SEVERAL CRITICAL AREAS, INCLUDING JUROR SELECTION AND SERVICE, JURY REPRESENTATIVENESS STATUTES, AND COURT RULES. REDUCING THE NUMBER OF PERSONS SUMMONED FOR JURY DUTY AND USING THOSE SUMMONED MOST EFFICIENTLY WERE KEY GOALS. IN ADDITION, THE PROGRAM SOUGHT TO ESTABLISH A 'COMMUNITY OF COURTS' IN WHICH IDEAS AND SOLUTIONS TO COMMON PROBLEMS ARE EXCHANGED AMONG COURTS AND WHICH SERVES TO ENCOURAGE THE BEST POSSIBLE JURY SYSTEM IN EACH OF THE COURTS. THE EVALUATION DESIGN INCORPORATES BOTH SUMMATIVE (OUTCOME, IMPACT) AND FORMATIVE (PROCESS) EVALUATED COMPONENTS. MEASURES USED IN THE EVALUATION INCLUDE THE NUMBER AND NATURE OF ACTUAL CHANGES MADE BY THE PARTICIPATING COURTS, SOURCE LIST COVERAGE, SELECTION PROCESS YIELD, JUROR UTILIZATION EFFICIENCY, JUROR ATTITUDES, PERCEPTIONS OF COURT PERSONNEL, AND STATUTE UTILITY. TEN OF THE 18 DEMONSTRATION COURTS WERE SELECTED, AND THEIR JURY SYSTEM OPERATIONS WERE COMPARED WITH THOSE IN 10 NONPARTICIPATING 'COMPARISON' COURTS. DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE IMPACT OF THE DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM ARE FOCUSED ON THE ACTUAL MODIFICATIONS OF JURY OPERATIONS ACCOMPLISHED BY THE DEMONSTRATION COURTS, THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE GOALS OF EQUITY IN THE JUROR SELECTION PROCESS, EFFICIENCY AND ECONOMY, THE ATTITUDE OF THE CITIZENRY TOWARD JURY SERVICE, AND THE PERCEPTIONS OF COURT PERSONNEL. THE EVALUATION CONCLUDED THAT THE FEASIBILITY OF MODIFICATIONS IN ASPECTS OF JUROR SELECTION, SCREENING, UTILIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF JURORS, AS WELL AS THE EXPERIENCE OF JURY SERVICE FOR THE JUROR, SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN WELL DEMONSTRATED. NOTES ARE INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--PRG)

Downloads

No download available

Availability