Improved Juror Utilization Achieved by Courts in 2011

The number of persons not selected or challenged on the first day of their jury service in federal courts declined in 2011, meaning that U.S. district courts did a better job of juror utilization.

The national average of jurors not selected or challenged on their first day of jury service in calendar year 2011 was 36.8 percent, down from the 39 percent in 2010. The decline in percentage means 8,871 potential jurors were not brought into a courthouse unnecessarily. It also equates to a savings of about $763,000.

The policy-making Judicial Conference of the United States has approved a juror-utilization goal of 30 percent or less for jurors not selected or challenged on their first day of service. Thirty-two of the nation’s 94 district courts achieved that goal.

A total of 57 district courts improved their percentage in 2011, and 16 of them improved by 10 percentage points or more. Those courts are California Eastern, California Southern, District of Columbia, Guam, Iowa Northern, Louisiana Western, Michigan Eastern, Missouri Western, Montana, New Jersey, North Carolina Eastern, North Carolina Middle, North Dakota, Tennessee Middle, Vermont, and Virgin Islands.