Juror Appreciation Week May 13-20, 2002

San Diego, CA – San Diego County Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA) is celebrating Juror Appreciation Week this May 13-20, by launching a public education campaign on the importance of serving on a jury. The group is concerned with a U.S. Chamber of Commerce study which ranked California 45th in terms of the fairness of its juries, and an even more deplorable 48th in terms of juries’ predictability.

The campaign will provide public education on the importance of jury service as both a right and a responsibility. The goal of the campaign is to boost confidence in California juries by encouraging more people to serve when called.

"When citizens fail to serve when called, the result can also be juror shortages, which serve only to delay justice for those seeking their day in court," said Andy Kotner, President of San Diego County CALA.

Through radio advertising, print ads, and billboards the groups will remind citizens that "there’s no excuse -- serve on a jury."

Juror Appreciation Week, observed annually during the second full week in May, was established by an Assembly resolution in 1998 to show gratitude to those who participate in jury service. CALA states participating in jury service when called is one of the best ways ordinary citizens can fight lawsuit abuse.

"If you’ve ever made excuses – no time, not convenient -- and avoided jury service, you play a role in the very problems you complain about. You could be the one person that changes the direction of a jury – and the outcome of the case, " Kotner said.

CALA is also encouraging employers to make a dedicated effort to encourage their employees to serve when called as many potential jurors site job conflicts as the reason they can’t serve. A larger pool of informed jurors can lead to greater benefit in terms of fairness and balance in jury verdicts.

"Instead of looking at jury service as a chore, every citizen should be proud to know that that they play a vital role in deciding the validity of the facts in a case," said Kotner. "We all have a right to a jury of our peers, but our peers must serve when called. Trial by jury is both a right and a responsibility."

San Diego County CALA is a non-profit, grassroots public education organization dedicated to serving as a watchdog over the legal system and those who would seek to abuse it for undeserved gain. More than 8,000 residents and taxpayers of San Diego are CALA supporters.

Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse Fax: (619) 295-6710

1761 Hotel Circle South, Suite 120 E-mail: sdcala@adnc.com

San Diego, California 92108-3318 web site: www.sdcala.org

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This page was last updated on 04/19/05