NCJ Number
70451
Date Published
1976
Length
137 pages
Annotation
This study examined the impact of jury service of the citizen's level of support for the local court (State civic court) in Harris County, Tex., in 1974.
Abstract
Two samples were randomly selected from the prospective jurors assigned to a particular judge. These jurors are randomly selected from the voter registration list. The first sample consisted of 150 people who were placed on panels but were not chosed as jurors and the second 150 people who did serve as jurors. Volunteer undergraduate students in public law classes at the University of Houston collected the data from November 1974 to May 1975, mainly by telephone interviews. Of the 300 attempted interviews, 223 were completed and usable. On the basis of contact theory, it was hypothesized that court contact would affect the level of support the citizen had for the courts. The findings confirm the hypothesis: jurors who found jury service a satisfactory experience had the highest levels of diffuse support, jurors who found jury service an unsatisfactory experience had the lowest levels of diffuse support, and nonjurors had levels of support which fell between those of the satisfied and dissatisfied jurors. Tables, chapter reference notes, and a bibliography of approximately 120 references are provided. The questionnaire and the interviewer's manual are appended. (Author abstract modified)