| Jury System Standing Committee |
| Committee members |
In January of 1996, then Chief Justice Anthony Vollack appointed the Colorado Supreme Court Committee on the Effective and Efficient Use of Juries. The objective was to improve the jury system – largely, for citizens who serve as jurors. After one year of study, meetings and outreach, the committee published “With Respect to the Jury – a proposal for jury reform” which included a series of recommendations.
The Colorado Supreme Court Jury System Standing Committee continues to fine-tune and implement the original recommendations, as well as seeking continuing improvements to the jury system.
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Meeting Information |
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On Feb. 12, 2003, a public hearing was held in Denver on three proposed rule changes: (1) the option to retain alternate juror in civil trials through deliberations; (2) jurors being permitted to ask questions in civil trials; and (3) jurors being permitted to ask questions in criminal trials. Comments were invited. Two reports were available regarding the juror question issue: the supporting report (the Dodge Report) submitted to the Colorado Supreme Court Jury System Standing Committee, and a dissenting report opposing the rule change. The rules issued by the Colorado Supreme Court following the hearing are now available.
Rule Change 2003 (1) Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure, Chapter 5. Trials - Rule 47. Jurors
(In Word format)Amended and adopted by the Court, En Banc, February 19, 2003, effective July 1, 2003.
Rule Change 2003 (2) Chapter 29. Colorado Rules of Criminal Procedure - Rule 24. Trial Jurors
(In Word format)Amended and adopted by the Court, En Banc, February 19, 2003, effective July 1, 2004.
March 12,1998 Jury Reform Implementation Plan [pdf]
National Program to Increase Citizen Participation in Jury Service: Colorado state courts are participating in the National Program to Increase Citizen Participation in Jury Service being conducted by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). This is a multi-phase project designed to promote public awareness and understanding of jury service and to support state and local courts in their efforts to improve the jury system. If you are a judge or lawyer and would like to participate in the project, please see the cover letter prepared by The Center for Jury Studies at NCSC and fill out the survey. It should take about seven minutes to complete.* The survey should be returned directly to Chris Connelly, Court Research Analyst, The Center for Jury Studies, National Center for State Courts, 2425 Wilson Blvd Suite 350, Arlington, VA 22201, cconnelly@ncsc.dni.us Thank you in advance for participating in this important project.
*The form cannot be filled out online but rather must be printed and mailed to NCSC at the address provided. The letter and form are provided in Adobe PDF format.