This TTA will focus on developing model practices aimed at increasing the diversity of juries in Harris County. We hosted a kick-off meeting on 10/26/2021 that included a number of public defenders from Harris County as well as jury expert, Professor Nina Chernoff. A letter was drafted so that we could begin discussions with other criminal legal system stakeholder on best ways to increase jury diversity.
Jan.-June 2022: Issued correspondence March, April, and June to no avail. Will issue a formal letter to determine whether TTA is still a needed and a possibility.
July-December 2023: Rolled this TTA assistance into a failure to appear project primarily lead by RTI and NCSC. a. Harris County, TX Study on Jury Service/Failures to Appear (FTA): We finalized and activated two surveys: one asking FTA jurors why they failed to respond to the jury summons and the second asking jurors why some people fail to respond. The Harris County District Clerk randomly selected 5,000 jurors to receive letters requesting their participation in the study (2,500 per survey). The letters were mailed on March 1, 2023. From March 1 to March 31, 169 jurors responded to Version 1 and 54 jurors responded to Version 2. In addition, the Harris County District Clerk reported that 244 letters were returned by the USPS marked undeliverable. Project partner, RTI International is conducting interviews with jurors who indicated their willingness to talk with researchers to learn how courts can better communicate with citizens about jury service.
July-Dec. 2023: Final report approved by BJA. RFP drafted for national campaign to increase jury participation based on report findings.
Jan-June 2024: • Published approved final report on Harris County, TX study on failures to appear for jury service.
• Held webinar for stakeholders on highlights of Harris County, TX study on failures to appear for jury service.
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