From: "LadyNada" 
Subject: Changes in Jury service
Message-ID: <199511112232.OAA21475@ix5.ix.netcom.com>
Date: Sat, 11 Nov 1995 17:33:37 +0000

The New York Times News Service

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1995

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL: STREAMLINING JURY SERVICE, AT LAST

   The New York Times said in an editorial for Wednesday, Nov. 8:

   Chief Judge Judith Kaye has announced new rules that will add
dignity and efficiency to New York state's civil justice system and
make jury service a less depressing experience than it is now.

   Beginning on Jan. 1, the time-consuming jury selection process will
no longer be left entirely to windy lawyers who often subject
prospective jurors to repetitive questioning and long waits.

   Instead, judges will begin overseeing jury selection and will
impose limits on how long lawyers can interrogate potential jurors.

   The rules will take effect at the same time that more than one
million New Yorkers lose their exemptions from jury duty under a law
signed earlier this year by Gov. George Pataki. This reform eliminates
the exemptions for physicians, judges and others - broadening the jury
pool, and exposing more citizens to the strengths and deficiencies of
the state's jury system.

   Under the new rules, judges will be required to be present at the
beginning of the selection process, known as voir dire. The judes can
decide how much control they want over the rest of the proceedings,
including how much questioning they do themselves.

   The rules also call for mandatory pretrial settlement conferences
to try to resolve cases before a jury is chosen. Commonly, cases get
settled only after a jury is picked and lawyers gauge whether they
have succeeded in stacking it in their favor. Small wonder many New
Yorkers leave their jury service feeling abused.

   How well the new procedures work in practice will depend on how
seriously judges take their new role - whether, for example, they
crack down on lawyers and court personnel who show up late and
disappear before the end of the day without explanation, much to the
dismay of jurors.

   Some attorneys accustomed to dominating the selection process, and
judges who do not want added duties, will not like the changes. Others
say it will slow down the system.

   But a pilot project in Manhattan demonstrated that having a judge
present from start to finish, and having that judge question the
jurors, can cut jury selection time from 15 hours to about 5 hours.

   In any case, the current system is plainly unfair to New Yorkers
who fulfill their civic duty, sometimes at great inconvenience. The
most frequent complaint heard by a special committee formed by Judge
Kaye to study the system was that jurors were wasting their time.

   In many other states, judges are already involved in choosing
juries in civil cases. In federal courts judges control the whole
process, with no sacrifice in fairness.

   Judge Kaye's reforms are welcome, though they will not completely
do away with New York's entrenched tradition of endless and sometimes
mindless lawyer participation. Further streamlining may be required.

   00:24 EST   NOVEMBER  8, 1995


... Redundant:  Air bag in a politician's car.
--- GEcho 1.02+
 * Origin: Gun Control = Criminals & Police vs. the Unarmed. (1:231/110.0)

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