I'm honored to have a guest post from Judge Gregory Mize, telling of his recent visit to Russia for the first ever "jurors' summit" there. I've been privileged to write about Judge Mize's work in improving the jury system before: his surveys of quiet jurors in voir dire will surprise you if you haven't seen them yet. He did the studies when he was a judge in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Now retired, he's centrally involved in the National Center for State Courts and D.C.'s Council For Court Excellence, on whose behalf he went to Russia and in whose Spring 2008 newsletter this article appears. I'm very grateful for the chance to spread the word. Here's Judge Mize:
Did you know that, shortly after the 1992 creation of the modern Russian Federation, trial by jury was re-instituted after a 7-decade prohibition? Yes, there is a new landscape of citizen participation in the administration of justice burgeoning in Russia. I did not know that until I participated in the first-ever Russian jurors’ summit this week in the Moscow.
It all started with the initiative of Leonid Nikitinskiy, a Thomas Paine-type journalist in Moscow. Leonid heads a guild of Russian journalists who cover court cases. With recurring reports of court nullification of jury acquittals in serious state criminal prosecutions, Mr. Nikitinskiy decided to lead an effort to comprehensively study Russian jury trials. His efforts inspired the U.S. Department of Justice to support a conference of 30 former jurors; several Russian trial judges, lawyers, and central government officers; and 4 North American jury trial experts. During 3 intense days, jurors from 11 disparate regions [in a country expanding 7 different time zones!] described their [sometimes harrowing] efforts to reach a verdict in state prosecutions involving the most serious criminal charges. The goal of the convocation was twofold: (1) to grasp the real face of jury trials in Russia, and (2) and to bolster its vitality in the future. Upon reflection, I think we attained the first goal. Time will tell whether the second aspiration will be achieved.
I am hopeful for several reasons. First, a 2-hour opening ceremony for the conference occurred at the Presidential Hotel where many high government officials, including former President Mikhail Gorbachev, rendered praise for the new jury trial system. Thereafter, about 60 of us headed to a retreat outside Moscow for nonstop discussions and brainstorming. Significantly, every juror and several legal professionals expressed a belief that jury trials in Russia are the best [and perhaps only] way to stand up against central government corruption or overreaching. These Russians see that juries are a backstop to their vertical, top-down legal and political culture. Repeatedly I heard former jurors – including business owners, school teachers, government retirees, and service workers -- affirm that, in their evaluation of criminal prosecutions, they served as the consciences of their communities. They were often dismayed by the poor quality of the government’s evidentiary presentations. In their cases, they grappled with many of the same challenges facing American jurors: discomfort caused by separation from jobs and personal routines, difficulties with the concept of “beyond a reasonable doubt,” disdain for legal jargon, awe at the question whether it is better to acquit a guilty person than to convict an innocent one, and impatience with judicial instructions to ignore improperly introduced evidence. In the end, the jurors’ sentiments were well summarized by the highly respected Moscow attorney Nikolai Gargarin, “I have a dream…. Our public agencies will improve…. If the Ministry of the Interior can have a budget of millions to improve the image of police officers and the military, why not do the same for juries!”
During the proceedings, our American delegation drew attention to the work of three U.S. NGOs [the National Center for State Courts [Williamsburg, VA], the Council for Court Excellence [Washington, D.C.], and the Fund for Modern Courts [NYC] were described. We suggested that the group think about engaging a critical mass of other jury trial enthusiasts and civic leaders in Russia to create an NGO in Russia to promote and fortify their fledgling jury trial system. In that vein, Mr. Nikitinskiy hopes to create a national “Jurors Club,” create citizen education programs about jury trials, and host additional juror meetings in the future.
As I reflect upon this immensely rich experience, I think I may have witnessed in Moscow something akin to our own Founders’ debates in 1789 in Philadelphia -- brave and visionary citizens struggling to discern a just and better way to govern themselves.
(Photo by Josef F. Steufer at http://www.flickr.com/photos/josefstuefer/14691135; license details there.)
