In its presentations, the Outreach Program Team reminds its audiences of the success of the OJC's pursuit of scofflaws. (Failure to appear for jury duty could result in a fine up to $2,000.) The OJC has no desire to divest delinquent jurors of $2,000.  It is, instead, looking to have people honor their obligation and thus, guarantee that representative cross-sections of jurors appear at all jury court locations.

The Outreach Program strives to teach citizens that the right to a trial by jury is steeped in history, a concept that can be traced as far back as the ancient Greeks. It also informs audiences that the Magna Charta is believed to be the first document to safeguard citizens from torture, imprisonment, and execution without the judgment of their peers. Centuries later in our country, that right to a trial by jury is guaranteed by both the federal and state constitutions.

Since its first presentation in December 1994, the OJC Outreach Team has traveled to more than 190 locations throughout Massachusetts, given more than 500 presentations, and addressed more than 22,000 people.  The program members have spoken to public and private school students of various ages. Usually, an Outreach team appearance in a school has connections to Social Studies, U.S. History, American Government, Street Law, or Problems of Democracy classes.

Members of the program have also appeared in the adult community speaking before Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs, neighborhood groups, religious organizations, and halfway houses. Pamphlets have been created and distributed at public libraries, community centers, and other places where people gather.

Back to Top of Page

MATERIALS

Program members have produced several pamphlets for distribution. They are, "A Few Facts About Jury Duty," "So You’re 18," "A Student’s Guide To Jury Duty," and "How the One-Day/One-Trial Jury System Affects the Employer/Employee."  Through the assistance of the Office of Court Interpreter Services of the Office of the Chief Justice for Administration and Management, the first three of these pamphlets were translated into Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Cambodian.  They were then distributed to public gathering places located where those languages are prevalent.

Back to Top of Page

ADULTS

The facilitator discusses the four major benefits of the Massachusetts One-Day/One-Trial Jury System—random selection from a broad-based source list, no exemptions, short term of service, and minimal or no financial loss. Other juror issues addressed include the employer-juror relationship; how jury duty affects senior citizens and college students; juror disqualifications; and the delinquent juror prosecution program.

Back to Top of Page

SCHOOLS

Presentations to students are designed to be very energetic, fast-paced, and varied, so as to hold the interest and attention of the audience. A multi-media approach with overhead transparencies, a musical soundtrack, and videotapes are all used. Each student is given a mock juror summons package and several of the aforementioned handouts. A brief history of the evolution of the concept of the use of juries ensues where it is explained that before the Magna Charta, people could lose life, limb, and liberty at the whim of the ruling class. Since then, juries have acted as a safeguard against tyranny.  

Discussion next focuses on recent trials involving defendants such as O.J. Simpson, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Susan Smith, Louise Woodward, and others. This "rogues’ gallery" of cases illustrates the power of jurors, just average citizens, who are called upon to exercise extraordinary powers in deciding the fates of the accused.

 We also talk about "jury fashion." As an example of what NOT to wear when reporting for jury duty, a slide is shown of the juror from the Whitewater case who wore a Star Trek uniform everyday.  Despite the lack of a strict dress code, future jurors are reminded that jury duty is work, serious work, and jurors should dress in a manner commensurate with that responsibility: neatly and cleanly.

Mimicking "Jeopardy," the television program, after a presentation is made, students are given 10 answers and must respond in the form of a question. Some examples: How long does a juror serve? How does a juror get paid? Where did the use of jury trials to resolve disputes among members of our society originate?

Finally, a role-play, mini-mock trial, complete with props, is held with students portraying the judge, a court officer, seven jurors, and the lawyers in a simulation of a courtroom situation. This provides students with a small glimpse into the life of a jury session in a court of the Commonwealth.   This role-play exercise has received high praise from teachers and students. Student participation is spirited. Jury deliberations often become quite heated.

The presentation is concluded with this message:

Don’t ever consider jury duty a waste of time.

Your mere presence at the courthouse often leads cases to a non-trial resolution.

As a juror, you make an immediate impact upon people’s lives.

You participate in your government, as we govern ourselves, by serving as jurors.

By reporting for juror service you guarantee someone’s constitutional right to a fair trial.

As a juror, YOU make a difference.

Back to Top of Page

CABLE TELEVISION

In 1998, the OJC broke new ground when it taped two 13-program series on a cable television network. Boston’s public access station, the Boston Neighborhood Network, features the Answer Channel and on that channel each show of "Jury Duty: You Make A Difference" was broadcast live.  The show was repeated that evening and twice over the weekend for a total of four showings per week. This channel is available to all 345,000 Boston cable subscribers.

The series drew the interest of several top-ranking court officials, as evidenced by the appearance of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court, the Massachusetts Trial Court, the Superior Court, Housing Court, Juvenile Court, and the District Court. Each show followed a call-in talk show format and ran 25 minutes. The OJC made duplicates of the first 13 shows, which have been distributed to other cable systems throughout Massachusetts.  The OJC has received a fair amount of positive feedback about these programs from all over the state.

Back to Top of Page

IMPACT OF PUBLIC OUTREACH

It is fair to conclude that the work of the OJC Public Outreach Program has helped to reduce juror absenteeism. In four counties where juror absence was studied: Bristol (southeastern Massachusetts), Essex (northeastern), Plymouth (southern), and Suffolk (mainly Boston) the number of delinquent jurors (those who responded but did not report for service) dropped. For example, of those Suffolk County residents who were summonsed in 1995, 25.5 percent failed to perform juror service; two years later that number had dropped to 20.3. The total for the four targeted counties dipped from 19.7 percent of those summonsed in 1995 to 12.9 percent in 1997, a reduction of 7 percent. These encouraging figures are attributable to the combined efforts of the OJC Legal Department and Public Outreach Program.

Back to Top of Page

 If you would like the Public Outreach Program to visit your civic or educational organization,  please contact us at