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The Jury and Democracy Project aims to understand the impact that jury service has on citizens. Too often, people think of the jury as nothing more than a means of reaching verdicts. In fact, serving on a jury can change how citizens think of themselves and their society. Our purpose is to study those changes.

This site provides access to the people behind the project, the writings we have produced, the data we have collected, general background on the project, and other links of interest.

Book published

In late 2010, we combined all of our project’s findings in a book by Oxford University Press, The Jury and Democracy: How Jury Deliberation Promotes Civic Engagement and Political Participation. You can order copies online directly from Oxford University Press or at Amazon.com. The early reviews say nice things, which we can’t help passing along:

Harvard Law Review says: “Written in engaging prose without sacrificing analytical rigor, this book is a must-read for scholars and students of the American jury system, as well as anyone interested in the effect that citizen participation in government institutions has on the strength of a democratic society.”

Judicature: “This book has a profound message, and the message is backed up with solidly designed and implemented research…The authors bring several different disciplinary perspectives to their ground-breaking study…This is a provocative, well done examination of American juries that also evidences a deep understanding of the role juries have played and can play in American history. I recommend it to all scholars who study juries, the justice system, and American democracy.”

Still can’t decide whether to get it? Read chapter 1 of the The Jury and Democracy as a free pdf.

In Memoriam
The best jury-inspired mural we’ve ever seen was produced by Michael Fajans and can be viewed at michaelfajans.com. It’s on the cover of our new book, as well as the masthead of this project website. Sadly, Michael passed away in 2006 after a motorcycle accident. We will miss him. We are grateful to have been blessed with so much creative work during his lifetime.