NCJ Number
108482
Date Published
1987
Length
0 pages
Annotation
Panelists discuss American Bar Association (ABA) standards of jury use and management, jury research, and Massachusetts' statewide jury system.
Abstract
Tom Munsterman, director of the Center for Jury Studies, outlines some of the ABA standards for jury use and management. Among the standards are the one day/one trial system, which provides that prospective jurors called for an empaneling be released from consideration if not selected the first day. Those selected for jury duty would serve for only one trial. The standards also recommend the elimination of all exemptions from jury duty and provide guidelines for juror fee structure, jurors on call, juror fee structure, orientation, and source lists. Paul Carr, the Jury Commissioner of Massachusetts, describes that State's centralized, statewide jury management system. It provides for the one day/one trial policy; the random selection of prospective jurors form a census list; centralized jury administration; a one-step, self-report juror qualification; and the standardization of procedures and forms. A third panelist (S. Penrod) reviews research on jury size and its impact on jury decisionmaking, the impact of decision rules on jury verdicts, and jury selection. Penrod recommends more research on jury decisionmaking under courtroom restraints (rules of evidence). Other research suggestions are the impact on jury decisionmaking of nullification instructions, the effects of expert testimony on jurors, public perceptions of courts, and juror effectiveness when considering complex cases. Audience questions are included on the tape.