Thomas Jefferson called the jury system "the only anchor yet imagined by man by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution." The ABA currently has a significant body of work relating to jury standards. These standards cover general principles on the right to jury trial, jury selection, conducting a jury trial, deliberations and decision-making, post-verdict activity and other principles and practices relating to jury management. The first task of the American Jury Project has been to review the current standards and determine how they should be consolidated, improved or updated.
On October 15, 2004, the American Jury Project held a National Symposium on the American Jury System at Washington and Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Virginia. The purpose of the symposium was to vet the revision and consolidation of the current ABA standards on the jury system. Symposium participants included judges, lawyers, academics, jury experts, court administrators, bar leaders and others interested in the health of our nation's jury system. The revised principles will be brought before the ABA House of Delegates during the ABA Midyear Meeting in February 2005.
The ABA Principles for Juries and Jury Trials (and Commentary)
