Juror Appreciation Day 2008
On May 8, PMC co-sponsored the Ninth Annual Juror Appreciation Day with the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. President Judge C. Darnell Jones, II, Administrative Judge D. Webster Keogh, Jury Commissioner Roger Gordon, Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, Judge Jacqueline Allen, and PMC staff thanked the jurors for their service. The theme of the day was “Jury Duty – Get Into the Action,” to emphasize that jury duty is not a spectator sport but that jurors must work together to reach fair and just verdicts.
The keynote speaker was Jessica Borg, weekend news anchor on WPVI. Ms. Borg spoke about her own recent experiences as a jury in Philadelphia. She explained that her first instinct was to try to get out of serving, but that she reported to court, was selected for a jury and deliberated to a verdict. All in all, she was pleased and proud of her service and encouraged others to spread the word about how important it is to serve when called.
Right of Jurors to Take Notes During Trial Likely to Be Expanded
The Supreme Court's Criminal Procedural Rules Committee will recommend that the Supreme Court permanently codify Rule 644 to allow jurors in criminal trials to take notes. Rule 644 was enacted in 2005 with a three-year sunset provision. The Committee notes that evaluation of the practice during the three-year period resulted in favorable reviews of allowing jurors in criminal trials to take notes. Like Civil Rule 223.2, the new proposed Rule will require judges to allow jurors in cases expected to take last longer than two days to take notes. In shorter cases, the judge may allow the jurors to take notes. The text of the proposed rule may be found here. The Committee will be accepting public comments on the proposal until May 30.sport but requires the jurors to work together to reach fair and just verdicts.
3rd Circuit Orders Release of Wecht Jurors' Names
The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled again on August 11th that the names of jurors in the criminal trial of former Allegheny County Coroner Dr. Cyril H. Wecht must be released to the public. The court said that U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab, who presided over the trial, failed to give sufficient reasons for keeping the jurors' names secret.
Historically, anonymous juries are a recent phenomenon. The court found that the reasons Judge Schwab gave for keeping the names secret -overwhelming media attention and the fear that news organizations would disrupt the trial by trying to interview prospective jurors' families or friends - weren't strongly compelling enough to justify withholding the names.
The court also said that Judge Schwab did not comply with the spirit of an earlier ruling, ordering that the names be released. In January, The 3rd Circuit ordered the names of the jurors made public prior to the swearing in of the jury. Judge Schwab released a list containing the names of all prospective jurors, with no indication of which names belonged to the jurors who would be serving.
In response to the most recent ruling, Judge Schwab ordered the clerk of court's office to notify the each of the 12 jurors and six alternates that their names will be released. Schwab said that he plans to release the names on August 18th.
The full text of the opinion is available here.
Don't Ask Me How to Get Out of Jury Duty
Just in time for Juror Appreciation Day, Associate Director Shira Goodman explains in a Metro commentary why everyone should show up for jury duty. Jury duty is a right and a privilege of citizenship, and our justice system continues to function only when responsible citizens show up and take jury duty seriously.
Praise from Jurors
An article in a journal for and about federal judges recounts several federal judges' own experiences as jurors. It's an excellent read and offers insight into why judges serving as jurors can improve their own conduct of trials.
PMC intern and law student Rahul Munshi was summoned for jury duty in the summer of 2007 in Philadelphia. Munshi showed up and was selected as a juror on a criminal trial. In fact, the jury elected him as foreperson. Munshi wrote a commentary piece about his experience that was published in the Pennsylvania Lawyer, the journal of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.
