Supporting the Nation's Judicial System & the Public it Serves

NEWS

D.C. Jury System Report

With support from SJI, the Council for Court Excellence (CCE) released Jury Service Revisited: Upgrades for the 21st Century, a comprehensive review of the jury system in Washington, D.C., at an event hosted by Arnold & Porter (SJI-14-T-086).

The report builds on the Council’s 1998 seminal study on jury service.  At the event, Professor Andrew Fergusson of the UDC David A. Clarke School of Law called the report, “a blueprint of change for jury service today.”  The Washington Post featured the report in an editorial published on January 2, 2016, which noted that the report and its recommendations “must not be consigned to the shelves and instead should provide the basis for needed action.”

The report’s twenty-five recommendations address how the Court can: improve juror care; jury pool and summoning; and trial structure in regards to juries.  At present, CCE staff is working with its Board and various stakeholders to initiate the process of implementing the report’s recommendations.

To improve the public’s access to justice and increase their understanding of the justice system, CCE has published and distributed over 360,000 copies of plain-language booklets and other materials explaining a wide variety of court and justice system issues.

This report is available online and through the NCSC Library eCollection.