Over-summoning jurors wastes resources and can damage the relationship between courts and the communities they serve.
Jury managers and court leaders grapple with a common problem: how to summon the right number of jurors efficiently, without placing an unnecessary burden on the community or eroding public confidence in the courts.
Recent updates to the National Center for State Court’s CourTools Measure 8: Effective Use of Jurors give courts more accurate, standardized tools for measuring jury yield and utilization, supporting better decision-making, operational fairness, and confidence in the jury system itself.
“Courts across the country are increasingly focused on reducing unnecessary juror burden, improving communication with jurors, and addressing participation challenges that emerged or accelerated post-pandemic,” said Miriam Hamilton, NCSC senior court research analyst. “Using these performance measures helps find just the right balance between summoning enough jurors to seat a jury without overburdening the community or wasting time and resources.”
Measure 8 now includes a ready-to-use Excel worksheet with built-in formulas, allowing courts to enter required data elements and automatically calculate jury yield and utilization, plus national benchmarking averages so courts can see how they compare. The updated measure also addresses:
• Guidance for both one-step (qualification questionnaire with summons) and two-step (qualification questionnaire first by random selection) courts
• Clearer alignment with summoning timelines and process flows
• Standardized tracking of jurors who are notified not to report when trials are canceled
Improving jury measurement is part of a larger effort to make jury systems more data-informed, representative, and responsive to the public experience, giving courts a clearer picture of who is responding, who is not, and where interventions may be needed.
NCSC’s Strategic Agenda priorities include supporting fair and impartial courts by ensuring courts have the right data to solve problems and the tools needed for the effective and timely resolution of legal matters.
To explore all 10 CourTools measures, visit www.ncsc.org/our-centers-projects/courtools. To access jury resources and tools through the Center for Jury Studies, visit www.ncsc.org/our-centers-projects/center-jury-studies.
Jury managers and court leaders grapple with a common problem: how to summon the right number of jurors efficiently, without placing an unnecessary burden on the community or eroding public confidence in the courts.
Recent updates to the National Center for State Court’s CourTools Measure 8: Effective Use of Jurors give courts more accurate, standardized tools for measuring jury yield and utilization, supporting better decision-making, operational fairness, and confidence in the jury system itself.
“Courts across the country are increasingly focused on reducing unnecessary juror burden, improving communication with jurors, and addressing participation challenges that emerged or accelerated post-pandemic,” said Miriam Hamilton, NCSC senior court research analyst. “Using these performance measures helps find just the right balance between summoning enough jurors to seat a jury without overburdening the community or wasting time and resources.”
Measure 8 now includes a ready-to-use Excel worksheet with built-in formulas, allowing courts to enter required data elements and automatically calculate jury yield and utilization, plus national benchmarking averages so courts can see how they compare. The updated measure also addresses:
• Guidance for both one-step (qualification questionnaire with summons) and two-step (qualification questionnaire first by random selection) courts
• Clearer alignment with summoning timelines and process flows
• Standardized tracking of jurors who are notified not to report when trials are canceled
Improving jury measurement is part of a larger effort to make jury systems more data-informed, representative, and responsive to the public experience, giving courts a clearer picture of who is responding, who is not, and where interventions may be needed.
NCSC’s Strategic Agenda priorities include supporting fair and impartial courts by ensuring courts have the right data to solve problems and the tools needed for the effective and timely resolution of legal matters.
To explore all 10 CourTools measures, visit www.ncsc.org/our-centers-projects/courtools. To access jury resources and tools through the Center for Jury Studies, visit www.ncsc.org/our-centers-projects/center-jury-studies.
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