Jur-E Bulletin

2021 Newsletters

July 23New Jersey Supreme Court Finds Selective Background Check of Juror Was Discriminatory
July 16Do Courtroom Curtains Prejudice a Jury? Federal 2nd Circuit Gives Interior Decorating Advice
July 9Juror Fined $11,227 for Causing a Mistrial
June 25Will Vaccine Mandate Skew Jury Composition?
June 18Virtual Trial Advice Column – Don’t Let Voir Dire Become a Circus
June 11Why Texas Justices Halted A Virtual Jury Trial
June 4Why Are Civil Jury Trials Disappearing?
May 28Georgia Country Institutes New Summoning Process and Addresses Pandemic Era Scams
May 21Scotus Denies Retroactivity of Ramos v. Louisiana Doctrine
May 14Ex-Fla. Rep. Gets New Trial After Removal of Faith-Inspired Juror
May 7Pandemic Rapid Response Team Advises on Seeking Jurors' Vaccine Status
April 30Arkansas Legislature Passes Law to Prohibit Mask Mandates  - Will This Affect Jury Summoning Yields
April 16Federal Judge Downplays Use of Plexiglass in Courtroom
April 9"Twenty Million Angry Men - The Case for Including Convicted Felons in Our Jury System"
April 2April Marks the 100th Anniversary of Women Jurors in Kentucky
March 26Live Streaming of the Derek Chauvin Trial
March 19Arizona Begins Deep Study of Jury System; Focus on Fair Cross-section Compliance
March 12Retired Public Defender Comments on the Pretrial Questionnaire Used in the George Floyd Murder Case
March 5George Floyd Murder Trial Begins on Monday - Voir Dire Questioning and Security Taking Shape
February 26New Study Indicates How  Ex-Con Exclusion Laws Affect Jury Diversity
February 19Wisconsin Court Comes Up with Jury Summoning Questionnaire Addressing COVID Concerns
February 12Harris County (Texas) Takes Steps to Improve Jury Diversity and Participation
February 5Does Presence of a Witness's Emotional Support Animal Prejudice a Jury?
January 29Best Practices to Address COVID-caused Criminal Case Backlogs
January 22Arkansas Supreme Court Reverses Murder Conviction Where Juror Signed Petition to Reelect the Prosecutor
January 15California Judges Seek Early Vaccination Status
January 8 Pretrial Jury Selection Questionnaire in George Floyd Murder Case  - A Model for Determining Bias?

2020 Newsletters

December 18 New York DA Vacates Convictions After Trial Prosecutor's Notes Show Shameful Misconduct
December 11 SCOTUS Hears Arguments on Whether Its Unanimous Jury Ruling Applies Retroactively
December 4 News from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
November 20 As COVID-19 Infections Rise, So Do Jury Trial Suspensions
November 13 Raised Hand During Voir Dire Not Enough to Prove Bias
November 6 Federal Judge Vows to Remove Anti-Maskers from Jury Pool
October 30 Abolish of Jury Sentencing Awaits Virginia Governor's Approval or Veto
October 23 Jurors in Canada Participate in For-Cause Rulings
October 16 Breonna Taylor Case Prompts Expanded Criticism of Grand Jury Processes in Police Misconduct Cases
October 9 Maryland Court Refashions Large Jury Assembly Room into a Pandemic Safe Courtroom
October 2 In-person Jury Trials in Maryland Resume Next Week
September 25 In Memoriam – Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Champion of Trial by Jury
September 18 Philadelphia DA Says Livestreamed Trials Pose Dangers to Witnesses (and Jurors?)
September 11 Ethics Board Seeks Sanctions Against Judge Who Disparaged a Jury Verdict
September 4 California Legislature Approves Bill Changing Evidentiary Standards in Baston Challenge Hearings
August 28 Scott Peterson Death Sentence Overturned Due to Jury Selection Errors
August 21 HBO's Last Week Tonight Devotes an Episode to Jury Selection
August 14 Virginia Legislature Begins Special Session - Jury Sentencing Reform on the Table
August 7 Turn on Your TV - Entire Online Jury Trials Will Be Live Streamed from Jacksonville, FL and Austin, TX
July 31 Idaho Reduces # of Peremptory Strikes During Pandemic Emergency
July 24 Attorney Boasts About His Chance to Be a Juror
July 17 Murder Conviction Tossed Out Because Judge Substituted an Alternate Juror Without Proper Inquiries
June 26 To Minimize Juror Trips to Court, New Mexico Establishes PreTrial Plea Deadline
June 19 Whitewashing the Jury Box?
June 12 NC Supreme Court Issues Major Decisions Regarding Capital Jury Trials
June 5 No More Federal Jury Trials Until 2021?
May 29 What Are Lawyers and Citizens Saying About the Re-Start of Jury Trials?
May 22 In Nation’s First Virtual Jury Trial, We Learn Some Things
May 15 Iowa Supreme Court Creates a “Jumpstart Jury Trials Task Force”
May 8 Ohio Judge Forges Ahead with Jury Trial Despite Evidence of COVID in the Courtroom
May 1 Legal Community Assesses Impact of Unanimous Jury Verdict Requirement in Ramos v. Louisiana
April 24 SCOTUS: Felony Jury Trials Require Unanimous Verdicts in All States
April 17Juror Fears About COVID-19 Cause Mistrial of Murder Case
April 10Can Speedy Trial Rights Be Respected During Pandemic Court Closures?
April 3Keeping Tabs on Statewide Jury Trial Suspensions
March 27Colorado Court Grapples with Holding a Homicide Jury Trial During the Pandemic
March 20Keeping Tabs on Jury Trial Cancellations Due to the Pandemic
March 13 Update on Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Jury Trials
March 6 Are you ready for COVID-19 in your jury pool?
February 28Screen Writer Discloses the Movie “The Holdout” Is Based Upon his Ever-Haunting Juror Experience
February 21Could Discussion of Race in Open Court Reduce Reliance on Stereotypes?
February 14How Courts Take Care of Jurors in High Profile Cases – Some Federal Judges’ Perspectives
February 7Jury Diversity—Massachusetts High Court Approves Service by Blind Jurors
January 31*New* NCSC video: Answering the call for jury service
January 24Alaska Starts Summoning Jurors by Email
January 17Special Interest Group in New York State Urges Jury Nullification in Gun Prosecutions
January 10Connecticut Initiates Study of Racial Discrimination During Jury Selection
January 3The New Year Opens with Opportunities for Ex-felons to Serve on California Juries