Awhile back, looking for an easy post on a busy day, I cited the NPR Jury Quiz. I should have noted that the quiz is from 2005. The quiz is still fun, and some of the information it cites -- like the last state to allow women to serve on juries -- will always be accurate. But other statistics cited there, including how many people are summoned to jury duty each year and how many appear, are outdated. Judge Gregory Mize, whose work on quiet jurors has been cited here and who is a Judicial Fellow of the National Center for State Courts, kindly wrote:
I continue to enjoy your web jury news. With respect to your latest issue, you use NPR data that is stale. I suggest you consult the recent survey data from the National Center for State Courts' State of the States Survey. Therein you will see that over 31 million Americans are summoned each year. A much higher number report for service, and 1.5 million are actually empanelled on a case.
It's true: the monumental NCSC State of the States Survey, published this May, should be the resource of first resort for almost any jury statistic, including that one. Judge Mize wrote to correct me right away, and I was slow in getting this correction up; apologies and thanks to him.
(Image by Amy at http://www.flickr.com/photos/psychobabble/94146830/; license details there.)
