Ohio Appellate Judge Advocates for Jury Trials as Integral to Procedural Fairness
First District Court of Appeals judge Pierre Bergeron (any relation to Boston Bruin NHL star Patrice Bergeron??) recently wrote a thoughtful piece in the blog “Procedural Fairness for Judges and Courts” (produced by the American Judges Association and the National Center for State Courts). This is the core of his advocacy:
Our contemporary litigation system has evolved to promote settlements or pleas and steer cases away from jury trials. And the system generally works well from a case-processing vantage point. But when much of the work is done in the shadows and away from public eye, how does this reflect on the judiciary?
The jury exists to provide a check on other institutions (including judges!) and to inject a dose of lay wisdom into the dispute resolution process. We lose both of those critical benefits when juries are sidelined and marginalized.
Think about even modest steps that you can take—as a judge—to help bring the jury back into the picture. Empirical data suggests that there is a gap between judicial perception (that all parties want to settle or plea) and what lawyers actually believe. What can you do to facilitate trials in cases where parties appear to want or need the jury trial? Even small steps like conveying that you’ll make it work for your schedule can send the message that jury trials are actually welcome and valued.
California Jury Education & Management Board Hosts 2023 Conference
On June 15 and 16, the JEM Board will host a gathering in San Francisco that will feature the topic of “Restoring Juror Eligibility to Citizens with a Felony Conviction: Implementation Issues.” The keynote presentation will be made by James M. Binnall, Cal State Professor of Criminology and Justice, & Emergency Management. Dr. Binnall was formerly incarcerated for a vehicular homicide and spent years in prison. While there, he took his LSAT and was admitted to law school while still an inmate. After his release from prison, Dr. Binnall earned his JD (Thomas Jefferson School of Law) and LL.M. (Georgetown University Law Center) and was admitted to the State Bar of California and received a Ph.D. in Criminology, Law and Society from University of California, Irvine. The agenda and registration information are available here.
After Split Jury Verdicts Outlawed - Many Prisoners Remain Locked Up
National Public Radio broadcasts an in-depth story about prisoners in Louisiana and Oregon who were convicted of serious crimes by non-unanimous jury verdicts. The Supreme Court in Ramos v. Louisiana declared such verdicts unconstitutional but left it up to each state to determine whether the ruling should be applied retroactively to prior convictions. Oregon applies the Ramos doctrine retroactively. Louisiana will not. Reporter Jason Breslow interviews victim advocates and prosecutors who oppose retroactive application as well as those who remain locked up and wondering how an unconstitutional policy remains applicable to them.