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Monday, August 21, 2006

Ind. Courts - "Allen County fishing in deeper jury pool"

Dionne Waugh of the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reported Sunday on the impact of the amendments to the Indiana Jury Rules, Rule 2, Jury Pool, and Rule 4, Notice and Summons that went into effect January 1, 2006, as well as changes from the 2006 session abolishing most exemptions from jury duty. The lengthy story begins:

As 19-year-old Leah Newcomb looked around the ornate Allen County courtroom, waiting to see whether she’d be picked for jury duty, she felt a little out of place.

“I was probably the youngest person there,” the 2005 Homestead High School graduate said with a smile.

She likely was, but she was not alone. Of the 50 or so people called for jury service sitting in an Allen County courtroom, a handful looked to be around Newcomb’s age.

Though that might not seem like much, a larger number of younger people is the most visible result of Indiana’s efforts to create a bigger, more diverse jury pool, Allen County court officials and local attorneys say. Even high school seniors are getting summonses, though they can defer their service until summer.

In the past few years, the state has eliminated automatic jury exemptions; changed the way it selects potential jurors; and changed how long jurors and potential jurors must serve. The changes are all designed to make the process better for citizens as well as produce more diverse juries.

One of the biggest changes started in 2003, when the state switched from culling potential jurors only from the list of registered voters. Now, localities must use at least two sources of information. Most combine the registered voters’ list with the list of people who have driver’s licenses. In January, the state added information from the Department of Revenue as another source. Allen County uses all three lists.

Essentially, anyone in Allen County who votes, drives or pays taxes can be called for jury duty.

But younger jurors are not the only difference attorneys are seeing. More criminals are also getting called for jury duty, and their convictions don’t automatically bar them from service. Additionally, attorneys are seeing more attorneys in the pool than before.

It’s taken time for those who work in the system to see how the changes have played out. Some attorneys call the changes a mixed blessing.

“It’s easier on jurors themselves. I don’t think it’s easier on the folks that work in the system,” Allen County Prosecutor Karen Richards said.

Though opinions vary, Indiana is one of three states – along with Arizona and New York – leading the way in making changes.

With more young people in the pool and on a jury, some might wonder whether they have enough experience to serve. Most attorneys and court officials said they were just as qualified as older people.

“I think they would certainly have a different opinion based on their life experiences,” said Lynn Murphy, Allen County jury administrator. “But everybody has an opinion, and it doesn’t matter how old you are. A doctor and a garbage truck driver will have different opinions. We need that diversity.” * * *

Though the changes are meant to diversify potential jurors, Allen County does not keep data to show whether the changes are actually creating a more diverse pool, said Allen Superior Judge Fran Gull, who supervises the county’s jury process and has been instrumental in instituting the changes.

“I’m not required to,” Gull said.

Richards said she hasn’t seen a significant diversity change, which surprised her.

“I would have thought changing from voter registration to driver’s licenses, we would have seen a change in the (racial) makeup of the jury,” she said. “Not the cases I’ve seen. I’ve seen a lot more young people and those with convictions.”

But Gull said she has seen both a more evenly distributed male-to-female ratio in the pool and more ethnicities and cultures.

Here is a list of earlier ILB entries mentioning Indiana jury pool.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 21, 2006 03:34 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts