The Power of 12
Arizona Supreme Court Committee on More Effective Use of Juries

Jurors: The Power of Twelve (November 1994), is the final report of the Arizona Judicial Council, Committee on More Effective Use of Juries (Committee). In April 1993, Chief Justice Stanley G. Feldman, appointed Judge B. Michael Dann of the Maricopa Superior Court, to lead the Committee in its mission to reform the Arizona jury trial system. The Committee was composed of a statewide cross-section of former jurors, jury administrators, academicians, civil and criminal attorneys and trial and appellate judges, who were commissioned to examine jury service and jury trial practices. The principal concerns of the Committee were: (1) the lack of representativeness of jury panels; (2) the passivity imposed upon jurors during trials; (3) the low level of juror comprehension of the evidence and legal instructions; and (4) the generally low esteem accorded jury service by the public.

Between May 1993, and September 1994, the Committee held eleven agenda meetings and more than 20 sub-committee meetings in the process of examining the policies, procedures and practices of the jury trial system. The Committee's final report, consisting of 132 pages of text and 81 pages of appendices, was unanimously approved by the Arizona Judicial Council in October 1994. The heart of the report is the 55 recommendations that formulate a blueprint for total reform of the Arizona jury system. The recommendations are organized by the following topic headings:

1. Public Awareness

2. Summoning Jurors

3. Jury Selection

4. Trial

5. Jury Deliberations

6. Post-Verdict Stage

7. Jurors' Bill of Rights