NCJ Number
126062
Date Published
1990
Length
89 pages
Annotation
An overview is provided of issues relating to jury list selection and certain aspects of jury service in Wisconsin.
Abstract
In Wisconsin, juries may be used in a wide variety of cases including conservation and natural resource actions, juvenile delinquency, and traffic violations. The process for the selection of a jury begins with the appointment of jury commissioners who prepare jury lists and investigate jury eligibility. A voir dire examination in the courtroom determines the qualifications and impartiality of the jurors and allows the parties to eliminate by peremptory challenge those individuals not favored by the parties. Various constitutional challenges have been made to the jury list selection process in effect in various states. These challenges relate to claims that the selection of a jury in particular cases amounts either to a denial of equal protection of the laws or a denial of the right to an impartial jury from a fair cross-section of the community from which the jury is drawn. Other key issues which have been raised relating to juries include juror compensation and time spent on jury duty. Appendix