Jurors in 10 courtrooms across the state are participating in a new Tennessee Supreme Court jury reform pilot project aimed at improving conditions for citizens called to render verdicts in civil and criminal trials.
The project, continuing until March 1, 2002, will assess the potential effect of 14 recommendations made by the Tennessee Bar Association Jury Reform Commission. The commission was created in 1998 to evaluate jury procedures in the state.
“The impact of each recommendation will be studied during and after implementation and the results of the pilot program will be disseminated and made available to judges, lawyers and citizens in Tennessee,” the Supreme Court said in its order establishing the project.
In a 1999 report, the TBA Jury Reform Commission cited areas of the jury system needing improvement. Reform objectives are:
* Recognizing that jurors are citizens who are performing a critical public service
* Respecting the personal and human needs of jurors to the extent possible and consistent with the important objectives of a fair trial and administrative convenience
* Structuring the trial process to maximize juror involvement, satisfaction and performance
* Achieving greater uniformity in civil and criminal cases throughout the state
“Across this state, jurors are performing a difficult public service that is the linchpin of our justice system,” Chief Justice Riley Anderson said. “These good citizens deserve to be treated with the utmost respect and we need to make their very critical task as informed, convenient and stress-free as we possibly can. That is the goal of the Supreme Court and the TBA in studying the issue and implementing this project.” Participants in the pilot project are Circuit Court Judges Robert Childers of Memphis, Creed McGinley of Savannah, Don Ash of Murfreesboro and Marie Williams of Chattanooga; Chancellor Steven Stafford of Dyersburg; and Criminal Court Judges Lillie Ann Sells of Cookeville, E. Shayne Sexton of Jacksboro, Richard Baumgartner of Knoxville and James Beasley, Jr. of Memphis. A Nashville judge also will be named to take part in the pilot program. The chief justice said one or more of the 14 recommendations already may be in effect in some participating courts. But, he said, all of the suggestions will be implemented during the project. Jury Reform Commission recommendations being used in pilot courtrooms are:
* Judges strive for juror-friendly scheduling with a minimum of unnecessary time in the courthouse.
* Pretrial conferences are held to expedite trial proceedings and ensure that jurors’ time is used most efficiently.
* Judges make reasonable efforts to rule before trials begin on the admission of exhibits and depositions
* Individual, rather than collective, questioning of prospective jurors is done when appropriate for efficient jury selection
* There is consistent use of the “all-the-same” model for regular and alternate jurors, treating them as a single entity throughout the trial and randomly or by lot designating which are alternates and dismissing them shortly before the jury retires
* Procedures for exercising peremptory challenges are uniform in a way that does not disclose to potential jurors which lawyer exercised the challenge
* At or near the beginning of jury selection, the judge shall, and attorneys may, briefly introduce themselves and inform potential jurors of the general nature of the case.
* During trials, judges may permit lawyers to address jurors to help them understand evidence already presented or to be presented. All counsel may respond to the interim commentary.
* Jurors may take notes during trial and deliberations and are provided with note-taking materials. After a verdict, notes are collected and destroyed.
* When appropriate, jurors are provided with notebooks for materials such as jury instructions, written exhibits and their own notes.
* Jurors may submit written questions for witnesses. The judge may ask the questions or permit counsel to ask. Jurors’ questions are anonymous and are asked at the judge’s discretion.
* Before opening statements, pilot project judges instruct jurors on duties, conduct, the order of proceedings, procedure for submitting written questions, general nature of the case and elementary legal principles governing the proceeding. Upon request of either party, or in the judge’s discretion, jury instructions on applicable law shall be given before closing argument.
* In all civil and criminal trials, written copies of the judges’ jury instructions are provided to jurors for use during deliberations, a procedure already used in Tennessee criminal trials and by some judges in civil cases.
* In trials with conflicting expert testimony, courts may reorder testimony to make it easier for jurors to understand and evaluate.
* The judge, jurors and lawyers complete an anonymous questionnaire concerning jury issues. The surveys will be prepared and analyzed at the University of Tennessee College of Law.