Audio video recording produced by the Office of the Jury Commissioner in association with the Boston Neighborhood Network. Transcript produced by Approved Court Transcriber Donna H. Dominguez. For more information visit our website JuryDuty.MAjury.gov or call 1-800-THE-JURY, 1-800-843-5879.
Executive Producer: Pamela J. Wood, Jury Commissioner for the Commonwealth
Producer: Michael Ryan, Communications Coordinator, Office of Jury Commissioner
Directors: Cullen Cockrell, Theji Jayaratne, and David Palomares, BNN
Studio Manager: David A. Palomares, BNN
Project Manager/Editor: Gregory W.R. Fulchino, Office of Jury Commissioner
“Jury Duty” was produced in association with the Boston Neighborhood Network, 3025 Washington Street, Roxbury, Massachusetts 02119.
Copyright 2015/2016 [Episodes 01-11/Episode 12] - the Office of the Jury Commissioner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 560 Harrison Avenue - Suite 600, Boston, Massachusetts 02118. Website: MAjury.gov.
CAPTION: Jury Duty, Michael Ryan, Host
MICHAEL RYAN, BNN LIVE HOST: Hello. My name is Mike Ryan. The name of the show is Jury Duty: You Make a Difference on BNN, the show that should answer all your questions about the one day, one trial jury system.
HOST RYAN: Our special guest today is Judge Robert Rufo of the Superior Court and also Chairman of the Jury Management Advisory Committee. Welcome, Judge.
JUSTICE RUFO: Thanks, Mike. It’s a pleasure to be with you.
HOST RYAN: Thanks for being on the show. Judge Rufo is a graduate of Boston College. He has his Master’s Degree from the JFK School of Government at Harvard, and earned his Juris Doctorate at the Suffolk University Law School, served as general counsel and assistant to the Suffolk County Sheriff, and was later elected Sheriff himself where he served for eleven years before his appointment to the District Court bench in 1996. And in 2004, he was appointed as a Superior Court Judge. He has also taught law classes at New England, BC, and Suffolk Law. So thank you for being on the show. And today, we’d like to talk about the Jury Management Advisory Committee. And what exactly is that, your Honor?
JUSTICE RUFO: The Jury Management Advisory Committee, Mike, is statutorily enabled. So the Supreme Judicial Court has general jurisdiction over all Court functions, and the Office of Jury Commissioner falls in that category. And the SJC appointed a standing committee of Judges, of which I happen to be the chair, to oversee the Office of Jury Commissioner. So I work closely with Commissioner Pam Wood and Deputy Commissioner John Cavanaugh on everything you can think of that deals with Jury Management. So I’m not alone. I have, there’s two Superior Court Judges, myself and Judge Kimberly Budd. There are two District Court Judges, Judge Michelle Hogan and Judge Bill Mazanec, and there’s a Juvenile Court Judge, Judge Jay Blitzman, and a Boston Municipal Court Justice, Judge Mike Coyne. So we get together about once every month or so, and, and get together and, and talk about issues. We have an agenda, and whatever the hot button item is, we, we tackle it.
HOST RYAN: So what kind of issues that you deal with? I notice you have a, a brochure about jury, jury stress. What’s, what’s with the story behind that?
JUSTICE RUFO: Well, we have a new initiative, and we’ve come to recognize, and it’s unfortunate, on the criminal side of the Court, maybe the civil cases too but mostly on the criminal side of the Court, we ask jurors to do, you know, a very difficult task, and, and sitting in judgment of another human being is difficult enough. But when we add in some of the horrific criminal cases and the exposure to the evidence, which sometimes is quite graphic and, and, and horrible, there’s no other way to, to describe it, we’ve come to learn that, that folks, you know, certainly can't just shut the switch off. They are reacting to it in a way that they need some professional help. So we’ve offered that to jurors who happen to sit on cases that expose them really to situations that are beyond description in terms of some of the graphic nature of the evidence and, and the graphic details of the particular crime that they are sitting in judgment of.
HOST RYAN: The --
JUSTICE RUFO: So we started a stress management program, and we have a brochure. It’s on our website, WW Mass, WWW, three W’s, Mass.Gov/Jury, and this brochure is available, and we pass it out to the jurors at the courthouses as well.
HOST RYAN: Do you mention that to the jurors, that this is available at the conclusion of a, of a tough trial?
JUSTICE RUFO: I do. I’m one of the Judges that goes and speaks to the jury after they return a verdict. Some Judges don’t, but I think it’s important that we should. And it’s, it’s a time for them to sort of decompress. And I try to allay their fears and concerns, and, and talk about as much as they want. I stay with them for as long as they want. And I can't stay with them for the rest of the time, and then they go back to their normal daily routine, and sometimes things don’t manifest themselves right away. So we offer this as a, an option to call back and get professional help and guidance.
HOST RYAN: So it’s something that, as you say, if it was a tough criminal trial with some really scary evidence, it could be quite traumatic for some of the jurors?
JUSTICE RUFO: Absolutely. And, and it is.
HOST RYAN: Some of the, so some of the issues that you deal with, with the Jury Management Advisory Committee, you also study the number of jurors who go to each particular courthouse under the egis of jury utilization.
JUSTICE RUFO: We do.
HOST RYAN: What does that mean?
JUSTICE RUFO: Jury utilization boiled down to its simplest terms is that we don’t want to inconvenience folks. People get a summons for jury, you know, service, say, oh, my goodness, I have to go to a Court house, what am I going to do, they get all stressed out over that before they even come to the courthouse.
HOST RYAN: We, but you don’t have a brochure on that?
JUSTICE RUFO: No, we don’t have a brochure.
HOST RYAN: Okay.
JUSTICE RUFO: But I go in and talk to them in the morning. You know, I greet the jurors and explain what’s going on and try to put them at ease. And then we, we try our best to sort of predict. It’s like sometimes predicting the weather, but we try to predict when we are absolutely, positively going to go through the selection process which is called impanelment. And we’re not going to bring jurors in for nothing only to turn them around and send them home because they have to take a day off from work, they have to get childcare, whatever the issue is. It’s, it’s an inconvenience, and we recognize that. So we’ve really worked hard over the last seven or eight years to improve juror utilization so that when we know we don’t need them, we can cancel them. They call up. They can go online now and, and find out if they’re needed for the next day. So we’ve really used technology to try to prevent people from coming to the courthouses for not, for no reason at all if they’re not needed.
HOST RYAN: And it’s also a cost saving measure, is it not?
JUSTICE RUFO: Absolutely. It saves money for both the litigants, the staff, the courthouses, the jurors themselves don’t have to take a day. A lot of people are self-employed and we’re not, you know, ignorant of that. So someone who’s self-employed, you know, what are they going to do, pay themselves? So we understand that, and, and it’s just a question of, of treating jurors with, with the dignity and the respect that they deserve.
HOST RYAN: So it seems that the JMAC is very sensitive to juror needs?
JUSTICE RUFO: Absolutely. That’s, that’s part of why we’re there. We’re, we’re there to give the Judge perspective, not that you folks in the Office of Jury Commissioner don’t have that, but you don’t. So we’re hearing, we’re on the front lines. We’re hearing from jurors, you know, what their concerns are, and no one likes to be inconvenienced. So that’s, that’s a, that’s a major issue that we focused on.
HOST RYAN: Now, you also oversee all of the many materials besides the brochure that the Office of Jury Commissioner uses, things like the confidential juror questionnaire has gone through several revisions?
JUSTICE RUFO: It has, and, again, this is about sensitivity. So we’re asking folks to give us information about them that is confidential, and we maintain their confidentiality very strictly. But we also have to walk that fine line of can you tell us a little bit about your beliefs and background and experiences of life that could possibly encroach upon these two words. You know what they are. Can you be fair? Can you be impartial?
If you can't be fair and impartial, that’s a problem, and we don’t want to have folks subjected to jurors that can't be fair and impartial because that goes right up against the constitutional guarantee of a right to trial by jury from a cross section of the community that can be fair and impartial. So we’re going right back to Article 7 Bill of Rights, right? This is what we all learned in high school. And so that’s, that’s dovetails, and it’s a long answer to your question.
HOST RYAN: That’s okay.
JUSTICE RUFO: But it’s, it’s important that folks understand that we’re not trying to get information about them. We’re just trying to use it for purposes of impanelment. Then, after the impanelment’s over, we shred the confidential juror questionnaires. They’re not kept by the Court, by me or anybody else, and only those confidential juror questionnaires that are used for an impanelment for people who are sitting on the jury are kept, but they’re impounded. They’re kept under lock and key in the clerk’s office.
HOST RYAN: And jurors should, should sign them truthfully, correct? It’s under the pain of perjury?
JUSTICE RUFO: It is. And we tell them that up front. So, you know, we are concerned about folks who would not tell us the truth with respect to their background, and that can cause problems. It can even invoke possible criminal prosecution. So we’re very nice about it, but we want to let them know that this is a serious matter, and we think, we also pray on their own good judgment, saying if, folks, think of it this way. If you were being tried or you had a civil case that was being tried in front of a jury, you’d want the jurors to be as pure as the driven snow, to be in judgment of you or your case as though it was, it was something that made a difference, you know, because we’re not trying to, to put people on the jury that have some sort of bias or leaning one way or the other.
HOST RYAN: You, also the Jury Management Advisory Committee’s had to deal with this voir dire pilot project. Can you, I know you’re on the committee. Could you tell us a little what that entails?
JUSTICE RUFO: You’ve been studying me, Mike?
HOST RYAN: Yes. I, religiously.
JUSTICE RUFO: We’ve, we’ve had a busy couple of years. In February of 2014, so it’s been just over a year now, the legislature passed a law that took effect February of 2015. So it’s only been around for about 30 or 35 weeks now, that allows attorneys, this is brand new. Not only can the Judge ask the jurors questions now, but the attorneys can ask questions in what we call voir dire, which is to inquire.
So after I ask a bunch of questions, not overly intrusive, but just general questions about their experiences of life, background. For example, if somebody is the second cousin or first cousin or brother or sister of the arresting police officer in a criminal case, they probably can't sit in judgment of their brother or sister who made the arrest. You know, that’s, it makes sense. But beyond that now, the attorneys can ask questions of the jurors, not overly intrusive, all watched, you know, carefully by the Judge. But it’s, it’s actually been very, very well received and well implemented.
So we have a standing order that protects the jurors’ confidentiality. We have the attorneys tell us in advance what topics they wish to explore. And it’s really worked right. It, it’s come to a sort of a good homogenizing effect of the whole process of jury selection. So it, it’s a new initiative. We’re watching it. We’re keeping statistics on it. And I have to give a report to the Supreme Judicial Court at the end of this calendar year about how we have implemented it.
HOST RYAN: So you’ve done several trials with this attorney participating voir dire.
JUSTICE RUFO: I have. I have. I’ve done about 12 since we started just in February. So from February to now, the end of September, about 12 of them.
HOST RYAN: So prior to this, lawyers could not ask jurors or prospective jurors, only the Judge could?
JUSTICE RUFO: That's right.
HOST RYAN: But it was, has been allowed in other states?
JUSTICE RUFO: It has. Attorney participation in voir dire is not brand new, a new concept, but it’s a jury innovation. So we’re all about looking at innovation. Sometimes innovation’s good, sometimes it’s bad, just like technology.
HOST RYAN: Sure.
JUSTICE RUFO: But at the same time, it, it’s something that we embraced. The legislature thought it was a good idea to start in the Superior Court. It’s not in the District Court yet. So if you’re going to jury service in a District Court with a six person jury, you won't see the lawyers asking any questions or in Juvenile Court or Housing Court.
HOST RYAN: Will it migrate there perhaps eventually?
JUSTICE RUFO: They’re watching us carefully. Our brothers and sisters in District Court and in Boston Municipal Court, Juvenile Court, Housing Court are watching what we’re doing. I think it probably will wind up there because it, it’s actually a good thing to, again ultimate goal, can we select a fair and impartial jury who will listen to the evidence, nothing but the evidence, and be free from any sort of extraneous influence or bias.
HOST RYAN: With, have you had any feedback from members of the bar who have participated?
JUSTICE RUFO: Yeah. I, I routinely speak to the attorneys after a trial, you know, after the verdict is in. Can't talk to them during the trial.
HOST RYAN: Yeah.
JUSTICE RUFO: But after the verdict is in. They tell that they, they’ve enjoyed it. They learn too from it because it’s new to them. So we’ve had training programs. Judge Maynard Kirpalani who’s my colleague on the committee has been one of the leaders in terms of providing training for the members of the bar. And Judge Peter Lauriat who’s a former JMAC, Jury Management Advisory Committee member. So, so Judge Lauriat and Judge Kirpalani have been out there going to MCLE programs and, and continuing education programs, and yours truly has as well.
HOST RYAN: So it’s, it’s a new wrinkle for members of the bar regardless of their experience?
JUSTICE RUFO: It is, yeah. Even senior practitioners, it’s brand new for them. And, and some of them like it, and some of them don’t like it. You know, but it’s a, it’s, it’s good. It’s all, it’s all good stuff.
HOST RYAN: Any reaction from jurors who have been, been in these trials with the attorneys participating?
JUSTICE RUFO: I think it’s actually added to the integrity of the process because the jurors get an idea that this is serious, you know, what they’re going through. They, they, they sort of grasp the seriousness of it right away when they see what’s going on. And we bring the jurors to the sidebar, and we’re very, you know, professional and, and, and kind to them, and, and say good morning and ask them how they’re doing, and we inquire about stuff that’s on their confidential juror questionnaire. Some of it’s fun, it’s interesting about some of the occupations that we see and --
HOST RYAN: Sure.
JUSTICE RUFO: -- we ask about how their children are doing if they any. Or you know, they’re retired, and I always say well what did you retire from, and people like to talk about their careers or whatever it is.
HOST RYAN: Do you, do the, do the lawyers talk to the jurors while they’re in the jury box or when they’re out in, in the gallery in the, in the courtroom?
JUSTICE RUFO: Well, there’s two methods. What you just alluded to was the most prevalent method that I’ve seen so far, and it’s not anecdotal, I have statistics on this, the far majority of the cases so far have been what we call sidebar individual voir dire out of the presence of the whole jury pool because people are shy. They don’t want to start answering --
HOST RYAN: Sure.
JUSTICE RUFO: -- questions in front of the whole group. I prefer that method myself, and that's the only method that I’ve used. The other methodology that’s been employed is what’s called panel voir dire where, like you said, Mike, they will ask the questions of the entire jury pool out in the courtroom, just sort of like in a theater. But I think that that has its limitations because people don’t like to be called upon in class. They don’t like to be singled out. And they don’t want to start answering questions about their personal background, you know, for strangers to consume, you know, the information. So just my view.
HOST RYAN: Right. But that’s an exciting invocation in the Superior Court.
JUSTICE RUFO: It is, and we’ve worked hard on it, and we’ve paid attention to it. I got information on all the other states. There’s 32 other states that do it. I got all of their protocols, all of their information about it. We got an assistance grant from the National Center from State Courts, this woman Paula Hannaford-Agor from Alexandria, Virginia has been up to help us do it. And Pam Wood knows her very well, the Jury Commissioner, and, and Commissioner Wood has stayed right on top of me about this issue, and you know, we work well together.
HOST RYAN: Now, you have to deal with some other issues on the JMAC such as jury duty scams that occasion, happen every once in a while.
JUSTICE RUFO: They do, and it seems like everybody’s thinking of ways to scam other people, you know, whether it has to do with credit cards, identity fraud, and now we’re, you know, we’re in this modality which is a tad bit crazy. But, yeah, we’ve, we have a, actually on the website, there’s a click of a button. You can check out what, you know, what the latest scam is. I mean why somebody would want to scam somebody about jury service doesn't make much sense to me, but it has happened, and we’ve been alerted to it, and we’ve notified the Attorney General’s Office. The State Police forensics folks are, are watching it from a computer perspective. If someone uses a computer improperly, they could be subjected to criminal penalties for that. So yes, we’re onto that as well.
HOST RYAN: Now,
JUSTICE RUFO: I can't believe how much homework you’ve done about this. This is very interesting.
HOST RYAN: Well, the other thing is social media which is evidently becoming a problem not only in this country but in Great Britain. That’s something that the JMAC has wrestled with, correct?
JUSTICE RUFO: Yes. So here’s what’s going on. I sound like almost my father. When I went to law school, we didn't have computers. We used books, you know. There was no such thing as even a cellular telephone. That’s how old I am. Now, all of a sudden, we have people in the courthouse with a smart phone. You name the brand, they have it.
HOST RYAN: Yeah.
JUSTICE RUFO: And it has unbelievable capabilities. So we’re trying to caution jurors that we really don’t want them to get exposure to extraneous influences through social media, Facebook, Instagram, you know, guess what, guess where I am, you know, texting, none of that. So we don’t pull phones away from folks, although some Judges do. I don’t. I pray again on their good sense and judgment, and say if you have an emergency and you need to use your phone, no problem. Let us know, we’ll shut down, you can do that. But we’re not going to allow you to use your phone for illegal purposes or illicit purposes or even purposes that aren't illegal or illicit but you might think are okay, but you can't get extraneous information.
We don’t want people going on Google Earth and looking at the intersection of an accident. We don’t want people starting to Google the parties and get information about one of the litigants that they shouldn’t have because it doesn't come from within the courtroom. Believe it or not, we still try cases the old fashion way based on the evidence and nothing but the evidence that comes from with inside the courtroom. Not because, you know, we have a robot or a Hall 2000 from 2001 or Space Odyssey, you know to feed the information in and he or she or it will tell us what that computer thinks. That’s, we haven't got there yet. So we tell folks that, you know, we embrace technology. We use it in the Office of Jury Commissioner. We use it in the Court system. You know, I use a computer every day of the week, and I’ve learned how to do that. But we don’t want them to go on to, to social media to get information they should not have.
HOST RYAN: And you warn your prospective jurors before the start of every trial, correct?
JUSTICE RUFO: Sure. We have crafted a model jury instruction which pretty much every Judge uses that goes through the whole litany.
And then we explain the rationale for it. You know, there’s one thing, and I learned this even, you know, at an early age. You don’t just say don’t do it because then people will say aha --
HOST RYAN: Yeah.
JUSTICE RUFO: -- maybe I want to do this or explore it, explore how, you know, to do it or accomplish it I should say, if I can speak. So we pray on their good sense again of judgment and commitment and civic duty, and explain the rationale as to why we don’t want them to do it. And people are really good about it.
HOST RYAN: And there are posters too in all the jury rooms?
JUSTICE RUFO: We have posters in the shape of a, an iPhone or a smart phone so it catches their attention. We again tell them, I tell them I have one in my pocket. You know, I don’t, I can't use it for any other purposes, but it’s there for a reason, and we use it, we embrace technology, but you can't use it to get information that you shouldn’t have access to.
HOST RYAN: So then we, we always tell jurors you can bring all your electronic devices while you’re waiting --
JUSTICE RUFO: Sure.
HOST RYAN: -- to go to Court, but once you’re in the courtroom, silence your devices?
JUSTICE RUFO: Absolutely. A lot of people bring their iPad or, or tablet, you know, because they want to read the newspaper or a book or whatever. And we, we encourage that, but we can't allow them to use it to get information from an extraneous source.
HOST RYAN: What makes a good juror?
JUSTICE RUFO: Somebody that, that, you know, has just a, a good sense of, of civic duty. They’re there knowing full well that they would want to have a juror like them to be in judgment of a situation, whether it’s a civil case where someone has been injured or harmed or, or whatever and are seeking damages, money damages for a civil case because we do a lot of those too. And then of course on the criminal side of the Court, someone who can sit in judgment of another person, looking at the conduct of that person, and understanding the high standard of proof.
On the criminal side of the Court, the Commonwealth, the prosecutors, usually the District Attorney's Office, has to prove the elements of that offense by a very high standard of proof. You know what it is, beyond a reasonable doubt. And we explain that in detail, what it is. On the civil said, preponderance of the evidence, more likely than not that the elements of their particular offense, or excuse me, elements of their particular claim, their particular claim, are met by that standard, preponderance of the evidence.
So I have seen jurors with PhD’s, you know, and beyond, and I’ve seen folks who aren't even high school educated, although we hope that they are, who are very savvy, experienced, good people, have people skills. That’s all. Just do you have people skills? Can you judge the credibility of the witnesses? Can you judge the credibility of the evidence? That’s all we need.
HOST RYAN: Anything we can do to improve the jury system in Mass?
JUSTICE RUFO: If there is, we’re trying to make sure we’re on the cutting edge of it. Commissioner Wood and, and the staff, like yourself included, have gone to great lengths to reach out to the public. This show is part of that, to allay the fears of the general public, that they shouldn't shy away from jury service. We need their participation. It’s really the last visage of active participation in government that’s left other than voting. And it’s very important to vote, never missed a vote. I used to hold elective office as you know a long time ago. It’s been 19 years --
HOST RYAN: Since you held office.
JUSTICE RUFO: -- since I was the Suffolk County Sheriff, yes, and I still vote for sure.
And it’s a, it’s a healthy process, but I’ve moved into a different realm of government now. And I can fully appreciate the fact that people are concerned about it. So I go out to the local high school where I live on Cape Cod and, and talk to the high school seniors all the time because they’re just turning 18, and now they’re eligible for jury service. So we, we’ve tried to get out front of it and, and through the website which is now very active and vibrant. So I would challenge your viewers to go on to the Office of Jury Commissioner because it answers, we have frequently asked questions. You can even watch the orientation video. Look at Chief Justice Gants. He’s, he does a great job at the beginning of it. And it’s a wonderful video, 17 minute video. It’s a new, uplifting, fresh video that we put together. I must confess that I had a little bit to do with it with Commissioner Wood and a lot of other folks. And, you know, we feel very, very strong about the fact that we have tried to depict to the general public that this is not like getting a traffic ticket in the mail. It’s more you’re welcoming them to participate in an important part of government.
HOST RYAN: So are jurors a necessary and robust component of the administration of justice?
JUSTICE RUFO: Couldn’t do it without them, and we tell them that. We appreciate their presence. We appreciate their willingness to serve. We still try cases like the framers of the constitution thought of, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. And I tell stories about how they came together and thought this was the best thing since sliced bread, and it still is. And, you know, it’s embodied in the Bill of Rights. It’s a constitutional guarantee that we take very seriously even today in the year 2015.
HOST RYAN: So jury duty is truly the cornerstone of our democracy?
JUSTICE RUFO: It is, and it, it’s part of the constitutional guarantee that we all hope we have which is to be free from losing our liberty without due process of law. And due process of law cannot take place unless the jurors participate.
HOST RYAN: Well, we’ve run out of time. We’d like to thank you at home for tuning in today to Jury Duty: You Make a Difference on BNN. Just remember, if you have any questions regarding your jury service, you can always contact the Office of Jury Commissioner online at MAJury.Gov or give us a call toll free at 1-800-THE-JURY, that’s 1-800-843-5879. Just remember you do make a difference. Please serve when called. It’s important to all of us. Thank you, Judge Rufo.
JUSTICE RUFO: Thanks, Mike. Thanks for having me.
HOST RYAN: And thank you at home.
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