JURY TRIALS in usdc / colorado

K R I S T E N L . M I X , U . S . M AG I S T RAT E J U D G EJ U LY 2 5 , 2 0 1 4

JURY TRIALS IN USDC/COLORADO

RECENT NUMBERS

Year Criminal Trials Civil Trials (Bench and Jury)

2010 23 392011 16 462012 23 75

THE 2013 NUMBERSJudge Criminal

JuryCriminal Bench

Civil Jury Civil Bench

Total

CMA 4 0 5 0 9REB 1 0 4 2 7PAB 1 0 8 0 9WYD 4 0 1 1 6RBJ 2 0 4 5 11JLK 1 1 1 1 4MSK 4 0 4 1 9WJM 2 0 6 0 8RPM 0 0 6 0 6RM 1 0 1 1 3JAP 0 1 0 0 1Totals 20 2 40 11 73

Criminal Civil Gr. totals 22 51

THE 2013 CONSENT NUMBERS

Judge Civil Jury Civil Bench TotalsBNB 3 1 4MEH 0 0 0KLM 3 2 5CBS 0 0 0KMT 0 0 0MJW 0 0 0

Totals 6 3 9

USDC/COLORADO REVISED JURY PLAN

• Effective December 15, 2011

• Applies to both Grand and Petit Jurors

• Requires creation and maintenance of Master Jury Wheel

• Clerk of Court manages jury selection process• Supervised by Chief

Judge or other designated District Judges • Court may protect

jurors’ personal info as authorized by law

N O C H A N C E .

WILL YOUR JURY LOOK LIKE THIS?

THE MASTER JURY WHEEL: JURY DIVISIONS

The District of Colorado is divided into four jury divisions for jury selection.

JURY DIVISION ONE (UNOFFICIALLY “NORTHEAST”)

Twenty four (24)counties:

Adams Elbert ParkArapahoe Gilpin PhillipsBoulder Grand SedgwickBroomfield Jefferson SummitChaffee Lake TellerClear Creek Larimer WashingtonDenver Logan WeldDouglas Morgan Yuma

JURY DIVISION TWO (UNOFFICIALLY “SOUTHWEST”)

Five (5) counties:

ArchuletaDoloresLa PlataMontezumaSan Juan

JURY DIVISION THREE (UNOFFICIALLY “NORTHWEST”)

Fourteen (14) counties:

Delta Jackson OurayEagle Mesa PitkinGarfield Moffat Rio BlancoGunnison Montrose RouttHinsdale San Miguel

JURY DIVISION FOUR (UNOFFICIALLY “SOUTHEAST”)

Twenty-one (21) counties:

Alamosa Custer LincolnBaca El Paso MineralBent Fremont OteroCheyenne Huerfano ProwersConejos Kiowa PuebloCostilla Kit Carson Rio GrandeCrowley Las Animas Saguache

THE “SOURCE LISTS”

Compiled for each county from Colorado General Election Voter Registration List, maintained by Colorado Secretary of State’s office for all counties.

As supplemented, if necessary, by list of licensed drivers and state-issued adult identification records, maintained by Colorado Department of Revenue for all counties.

SELECTION FROM THE SOURCE LISTS FOR MASTER JURY WHEEL

Number of names drawn for Master Jury Wheel from each source list = percentage of names on voter registration list for county as to names on voter registration lists for all counties in the Division.

E.g., hypothetically, Div. 1 has 500,000 registered voters, 400,000 of whom are registered in Denver County. Thus, Denver has 80% of registered voters in Div. 1, so 80% of the names on the Master Jury Wheel for Div. 1 are drawn from the Denver County source list.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

SELECTION FROM THE SOURCE LISTS FOR MASTER JURY WHEEL

Source list for each county is randomized and a starting number is drawn from an electronic random number generating program. First name selected is the starting number. Remaining names are selected at equal intervals to produce the total number of names required for the Master Jury Wheel.

THE MASTER JURY WHEEL

Q: What is it?A: An electronic database.

Q: How many names are on it?A: Depends on historical jury usage needs and

projected workload of the court.

Q: How do names get placed on it?A: Names are selected from the source list for

each county.

THE MASTER JURY WHEEL (CONT.)

Q: When is the list generated?A: Between January 1 and October 1 in every odd-numbered year.

Q: What is the minimum number of names on the Master Jury Wheel?A: Different for each Division. Whichever is greater:Div. 1 = 30,000 or .5% of total on source list.Div. 2 = 2,000 or .5% of total on source list.Div. 3 = 3,000 or .5% of total on source list.Div. 4 = 6,000 or .5% of total on source list.

THE MASTER JURY WHEEL (CONT.)

Q: When are names drawn from the Master Jury Wheel?A: On order of Court.

Q: How many names are drawn?A: Determined by Clerk, based on anticipated juror needs.

Q: How are the names drawn?A: One of three ways: (1) on a pro rata basis for each jury division; or (2) on a pro rata basis from a combination of divisions; or (3) from a single jury division.

THE MASTER JURY WHEEL (CONT.)

Q: What happens if there aren’t enough jurors on the Master Jury Wheel?A: The U.S. Marshal summons additional jurors from the source lists.

Q: Are Master Jury Wheel records public?A: No, unless ordered disclosed by the Court.

DISQUALIFICATION AND EXEMPTION FROM JURY SERVICE

A person is disqualified if:- not a U.S. citizen- under 18 years old- has not resided in Colorado for 1 year- not proficient at reading, writing English- unable to speak English- physically or mentally infirm- has criminal charge pending- convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than 1 year[28 U.S.C. § 1865(b)]

EXEMPTION FROM JURY SERVICE

A person is exempt if:- in active service in armed forces of

U.S.- firefighter or policeman/woman- public officer in executive, legislative

or judicial branches of U.S. and actively engaged in performance of official duties. “Public officer” means elected

or appointed by someone who was elected.

EXCUSAL FROM JURY SERVICE ON INDIVIDUAL REQUEST

If requested, a person is excused if:- served as a juror in last two years- over age 70- essential to the care of child or children under 10 when undue hardship exists- essential to the care of aged or infirm person when undue hardship exists- resides outside the jury division from which s/he was summoned- volunteer safety personnel serving a public agency in official capacity

RECENT MASTER JURY WHEEL STATISTICS

Numbers of jurors on the wheel by Division:

Division One: 40,035Division Two: 8,231Division Three: 8,032Division Four: 8,027

Jurors

Div. 1Div.2Div. 3Div. 4

RECENT MASTER JURY WHEEL STATISTICS FOR DIVISION 1

Percent of population in Division 1

White: 87.2%Black: 3.8%American Indian: .8%Asian: 1.6%Pacific Islander: .1%Other : 4.4%Multi-racial: 2.1%

Percent on Master Jury Wheel

White: 67.69%Black: 3.05%American Indian: .82%Asian: 2.44%Pacific Islander: 0%Other: 3.05%Multi-racial: 1.01%Unknown: 21.95%

RECENT MASTER JURY WHEEL STATISTICS FOR DIVISION 1

Percent of population in Division 1

Hispanic or Latino: 10.8%Non-Hispanic or Non-Latino: 89.2%Male: 49.3%Female: 50.7%

Percent on Master Jury Wheel

Hispanic or Latino: 13%Non-Hispanic or Non-Latino: 56.5%Unknown: 30%Male: 48.37%Female: 42.07%Unknown: 9.56%

RECENT MASTER JURY WHEEL STATISTICS FOR DIVISION 2

Percent of population in Division 2

White: 88.2%Black: .2%American Indian: 5.8%Asian: .3%Pacific Islander: .1%Other: 3.5%Multi-racial: 1.9%

Percent on Master Jury Wheel

White: 74%Black: 0%American Indian: 3.4%Asian: .5%Pacific Islander: 0%Other: 1.96%Multi-racial: .98%Unknown: 19%

RECENT MASTER JURY WHEEL STATISTICS FOR DIVISION 2

Percent of population in Division 2

Hispanic or Latino: 8.5%Non-Hispanic or Non-Latino: 91.5%Male: 49.8%Female: 50.2%

Percent on Master Jury Wheel

Hispanic or Latino: 7.35%Non-Hispanic or Non-Latino: 50%Male: 41.18%Female: 46.08%Unknown: 12.74%

RECENT MASTER JURY WHEEL STATISTICS FOR DIVISION 3

Percent of population in Division 3

White: 95%Black: .3%American Indian: .8%Asian: .4%Pacific Islander: .1%Other: 2.1%Multi-racial: 1.4%

Percent on Master Jury Wheel

White: 83.75%Black: .51%American Indian: 0%Asian: .5%Pacific Islander: 0%Other: 1.02%Multi-racial: .51%Unknown: 13.7%

RECENT MASTER JURY WHEEL STATISTICS FOR DIVISION 3

Percent of population in Division 3

Hispanic or Latino: 6.3%Non-Hispanic or Non-Latino: 93.7%Male: 50.5%Female: 49.5%

Percent on Master Jury Wheel

Hispanic or Latino: 8.63%Non-Hispanic or Non-Latino: 55.84%Unknown: 35.53%Male: 49.24%Female: 43.15%Unknown: 7.61%

INFORMATION NOT AVAILABLE FOR DIVISION 4

JURY SELECTION TIPS

1. Know the judge’s ground rules, especially as to social media use.

2. Create “good juror” and “bad juror” profiles in advance.

3. Get organized in advance. Create “sticky notes” with abbreviations for marital status, children, hobbies, etc.

4. Acknowledge inconvenience/hardships of jury service.

5. Be prepared and focused in voir dire. Use it to establish that you are the better lawyer. First impressions matter.

JURY SELECTION TIPS (CONT.)

6. If you don’t have a purpose for your question, don’t ask it.

7. Do not argue the merits of the case.8. Use bad jurors as sounding boards to evaluate

the responses of other jurors.9. Use open-ended questions: “Tell me about. . .”

“Why?”10. Pause at the end of the answer before asking

the next question.11. Throw out your biases and LISTEN to the

answers.

QUESTIONS?