National Jury Summit To Address 'Protecting The Jury Trial - A Curriculum For Success'

Helping the community understand the importance of jury trials and what is at stake as the number of jury trials declines

DALLAS - (Nov. 24, 2008) - Protecting the jury trial will be the focus of the third National Jury Summit hosted by the American Board of Trial Advocates. The Summit will be held at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco, April 1-3, 2009.

This will be the third jury summit presented by ABOTA. The two previous summits were held in 2005 and 2007.

"Trial by jury is - unfortunately - a forgotten constitutional right that most Americans don't even realize is being taken away from them," said John L. Holcomb, president-elect of the American Board of Trial Advocates. "America's greatness lies in its people. Eliminating the jury system in favor of justice by a bureaucracy is an attack on the very reasons this country was founded."

Holcomb, of the Tampa, Fla., law firm of Hill Ward Henderson, said Summit attendees will learn techniques and approaches for ways to communicate ABOTA's mission to protect the right to civil jury trials. Alerting citizens to the risks associated with a continued decline in the number of civil jury trials and how that decline affects their rights and future will be a key component.

Why the Summit?

Research indicates that Americans would want a jury, not a judge, to decide their case if they were on trial. A 2007 survey of U.S. adults between July 30 and August 2, 2007, suggests that the public would be receptive to an effort designed to reinforce the historical significance of jury trials and to raise awareness about the importance of preserving citizens' right to a jury trial.

"There are strong efforts to impede the constitutional right to a jury trial," Holcomb said, adding that between 1976 and 2002 jury trials decreased by 32 percent for civil cases. "That's a staggering number, and one that would alarm our founding fathers," he said. "In their eyes, the right to a jury trial was on par with the right to vote and the right to free speech. Juries serve as the check and balance on our judicial system, and are a fundamental right critical to our democracy."

"This is not to say that the American jury system does not need some tweaking," said Summit organizer Joshua A. Whitman. "Without question, we must create more efficiency to restore citizens' confidence in the operation of the system," said Whitman of the Jacksonville, Fla., law firm of Milton, Leach, Whitman, D'Andrea & Milton, P.A. "ABOTA is collaborating with the National Center for State Courts to advocate changes that will improve the system's effectiveness, and make it even stronger."

National Jury Summit topics include:

• The Seventh Amendment and the Right to Trial by Jury
• Teaching Students about the Jury from Grade School through Law School
• Justice for the People
• Justice Teaching
• The Impact of Film on the Juror
• Jury Trials as Opportunities to Educate and Build Public Trust in Courts
• Civility Matters
• The Jury and Democracy: How Jury Deliberation Promotes Civic Engagement and Political Participation
• The Jury and Democracy Project
• The Impact of the Media on the Juror
• The Journalist Law School

Topics subject to change.

Anticipated speakers

Mary E. Alexander
Past President, American Association for Justice
San Francisco

Luther J. Battiste III
Vice President, Southeastern Chapters of ABOTA
Columbia, S.C.

UCLA School of Law Professors Paul Bergman and Michael Asimow
Co-Authors: Reel Justice: The Courtroom Goes to the Movies

James M. Campbell
President-Elect, International Association of Defense Counsel
Boston

David B. Casselman
President, California Chapters of ABOTA
Los Angeles

Christopher A. Duggan
President, Massachusetts Chapter of ABOTA

Professor John Gastil
Jury and Democracy Project
University of Washington

Tom Harkness
Vice President, Foundation of ABOTA
Austin, Texas

The Hon. R. Fred Lewis
Chief Justice, Florida Supreme Court
Tallahassee, Fla.

Donna D. Melby
2005 National President of ABOTA
Los Angeles

The Hon. Greg Mize (Retired)
National Center for State Courts
Arlington, Va.

Professor John T. Nockleby
Loyola University, Los Angeles School of Law

The Hon. Tam Nomoto Schumann
President, American Judges Association

The Hon. Harvey E. Schlesinger
U.S. District Judge
Jacksonville, Fla.

The Hon. Ricardo M. Urbina
U.S. District Court
Washington, D.C.

Speakers subject to change.

For media inquiries, contact Brian W. Tyson at briant@abota.org or (214) 871-7523.

ABOUT ABOTA:
Founded in 1958, ABOTA is celebrating its 50th anniversary. ABOTA is a national association of experienced trial lawyers and judges. ABOTA and its members are dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the civil jury trial right provided by the 7th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Foundation of ABOTA is an affiliated charitable entity, the mission of which is to support the purposes of ABOTA through education and research. ABOTA membership consists of more than 6,300 lawyers and judges spread among 93 Chapters in all 50 States and the District of Columbia. ABOTA publishes Voir Dire magazine, which features in-depth articles on current and historical issues related to the 7th Amendment.