Comparative Study of Jury Selection Systems - An Empirical Analysis of First-Class Versus Certified Mail for Service of Summons and Simultaneous Versus Separate Delivery of Summons and Qualification Questionnaire

• NCJ Number: 83731
• Author(s): J E Shapard
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 46 pages
• Corporate Author: Federal Judicial Ctr
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: A Federal Judicial Center Staff Paper

Annotation

This report describes the methodology and findings of a study focusing on the effectiveness of four different juror selection systems.

Abstract

The four juror selection methods investigated were the four possible combinations of two significant choices that can be made in designing a system that begins with a list of names, inquires into qualifications, and ends with a list of potential jurors. The two options that define the four selection systems are (1) the qualification and summoning of jurors completed in separate steps or as a single step and (2) the summons delivered by certified mail or by regular mail. Several distinct components were involved in the data collection and analysis process. Data were collected on the quantitative details of the filtering out of jurors in the selection process as actually conducted in each of the eight participant courts. Experimental mailings of summonses or qualification questionnaires were conducted in six of the courts. Court personnel then estimated the time required to perform specific clerical tasks associated with juror selection. Abstract mathematical models were developed for each of the four jury selection systems, and data were analyzed according to these models. Based on study results, it is recommended that courts use a one-step procedure for qualification and summoning of jurors and regular mail for service of the summons. Three tables and footnotes are provided. The methodology and findings of the study are spelled out in the appendix.