Is the Jury System Dying? A Few Statistics
Chief U.S.
District Court Judge William G. Young of Boston has said
that, “the American jury system is dying. It is dying faster
in civil cases than in criminal cases. It is dying faster in Federal
courts than in State courts. But it is dying, nonetheless.”
In 1962, 11.5% of federal civil cases were decided by a jury trial;
by 2002, it was 1.8%. In 1962, 15% of federal criminal cases were
decided by a jury trial; by 2002, it was 5%. Both civil and criminal
trials have shrunk in absolute numbers, while the number of cases
filed has continued to increase. In 1962, each federal district
court judge heard 39 trials a year; by 2002, the number was down
to 13.2.
Excerpted from: Clay S. Conrad, "Killing Off the Jury with Tort Reform," CounterPunch, June 23, 2005 (http://www.counterpunch.org/conrad06232005.html), accessed 8/18/05.
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