OFFICE OF THE SHERIFF New South Wales

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OFFICE OF THE SHERIFFNew South Wales

• Siobhan Ryan
• Juror Support Program Coordinator

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Jury Room Dynamics

• One man against 10... the jury that went to war
• Ten days ago, as the rest of Sydney enjoyed a
  mid-autumn Sunday, 5 men 6 women walked off a
  bus and into the old ground floor jury room in
  Oxford Streets Central Criminal Court.
• There they ended their three months together in
  acrimony bitterness
• Sydney Morning Herald, May 17, 2000 p.1

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The Juror Support Program was

• Established in August 2000 to address the welfare
  of jurors
• Developed in response to reports that some jurors
  find the experience distressing
• Based on a belief that some of these jurors would
  benefit from professional counselling

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The Juror Support Program offers

• Professional counselling provided by registered
  clinical psychologists across the state (via 3
  contracted agencies)
• Available 7days/24hrs telephone face-face
  counselling
• Sheriffs Office covers the cost of up to 3
  sessions (additional sessions provided on
  application to the Office)
• Jurors may choose to access other health
  professionals for personal and/or cultural
  reasons- this cost is covered by the Sheriff's
  Office also.

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JSP Information Strategy

• Sheriff Court Officers are trained in dealing
  with distressed jurors delivering information
  about the JSP
• Jurors are informed after discharge
• Sheriff/Court Officer reads out a standard script
  acknowledging common reactions introducing the
  JSP.(these notes were approved by Director
  General)
• Jurors are invited to take a pamphlet outlining
• common feelings reactions
• how the JSP works
• contact details of contracted counselling
  agencies

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Evaluation of theJuror Support Program

• March 2003
• NSW Sheriffs Office

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Survey Distribution Return

• An Independent Project Team provided final
  version of the survey instrument 2,000 return
  address mailing labels.
• Sheriffs Office randomly selected 2,000
  discharged jurors.
• Jurors received a covering letter, survey
  postage paid, return addressed envelope.
• Jurors had 2 months to return.
• Participation was optional anonymous.
• Overall return rate was 48 (approx 900 surveys)

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Survey Contents

• Demographic information about the respondent
• Details of most recent jury service
• Impact of jury service on the respondent
• Feedback on the effectiveness of the JSP
  information strategy
• Feedback on the need for the JSP
• Feedback from JSP users

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Demographic Mix of Respondents

• Almost equal proportions of males females
• Representative spread across 6 age groups
• Cultural background
• 84 from English speaking backgrounds
• 13 from nonEnglish speaking backgrounds
• 1 identifying as Aboriginal/Torres Strait
  Islander
• Employment Status
• 73 employed/contracted
• 15 retirees
• 6 home makers
• 4 unemployed or student

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Jury Experience of Respondents

• 80 were 1st time jurors.
• 67 served at a District Court.
• 28 served at the Supreme Court.
• 94 served on a criminal trial.

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Location Type of Trials

• Location
• Downing Street (46)
• Newcastle (17)
• Wollongong (14)
• Dubbo (9)
• Darlinghurst (7)
• Queens Square (6)

• Trial Type
• Sexual assault (26)
• Murder (20)
• Drugs (17)
• Robbery (16)
• Assault (15)

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Length Outcomes of Trials

• Length
• lt 2 weeks (75)
• 24 weeks (17)
• 46 weeks (2.5)
• 68 weeks (2.2)
• gt 8 weeks (2)

• Outcome
• Not guilty (37)
• Guilty (33)
• Discharged before verdict (24)
• Jury did not agree (5)

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Major Findings

• Evaluation of the
• Juror Support Program

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Immediate Feelings After Discharge

• 49 were satisfied theyd played their part.
• 38 felt good about the overall experience.
• 9 were worried about the verdict its impact.
• 3 were anxious for the victim/accused/family.
• 9 were upset about jury room dynamics.
• 7 were concerned about the jurys decision.
• 15 were frustrated by the legal process.
• 12 were curious about sentencing/appeal.

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Feeling Good Satisfied About Jury Service

• More Likely to Report
• Older people
• Men
• People from English Speaking Backgrounds
• 1st time jurors

• Less Likely to Report
• Jurors discharged before verdict
• Juries that did not agree

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Feeling Worried or Anxious about the Verdict
its Impact on the Victim/Accused/Family

• More Likely to Report
• Jurors serving 46 weeks
• Jurors passing a guilty verdict
• Women
• Supreme Court Jurors

• Less Likely to Report
• Jurors serving less than 2 weeks
• Juries discharged before verdict
• Students, retired, homemakers
• Jurors on civil cases

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Feeling Upset or Concerned about Jury Dynamics or
Decision

• More Likely to Report
• Juries that did not agree
• Jurors passing a guilty verdict
• Women
• Supreme Court Jurors
• Jurors on murder trials

• Less Likely to Report
• Juries discharged before verdict

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Feeling Curious or Frustrated about
Sentencing/Appeals or the Legal Process

• More Likely to Report
• Women
• Jurors from English speaking backgrounds
• Jurors aged 2534
• 1st time jurors
• Jurors passing a guilty verdict
• Supreme Court Jurors
• Jurors on murder or kidnapping trials

• Less Likely to Report
• Jurors on civil cases
• Juries discharged before verdict
• Jurors serving for shorter periods

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Strategies Used to Address Concerns

• 32 spent time thinking about the trial
• (More likely to occur with murder trials, longer
  trials)
• 14 talked to someone they knew
• (Women, 1st timers, Supreme Court, criminal
  cases, murder trials)
• 3 thought about contacting the Juror Support
  Program
• (Women, Supreme Court, murder trials, longer
  cases, guilty verdicts)

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Strategies that Eased Concerns

• Talking it over with others (21)
• The passage of time (15.4)
• Reading the Juror Support Program brochure (5)
• Assistance from Court Staff (5)
• Hearing the presentation on the JSP (3)
• Talking to a JSP Counsellor (0.4)
• Nothing, still worried about the case (3)

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Juror Support for the JSP

• 83 agreed that the Juror Support Program should
  be available.
• 9 reported that it made no difference if the JSP
  was there. (These were more likely to be men,
  people who did not speak English at home,
  District Court jurors).

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Sample Comments
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Conclusions from the Evaluation

• Jury service can be distressing for some jurors,
  particularly on long, criminal trials.
• Verbal written information about the Juror
  Support Program helps some jurors to see their
  concerns as natural normal.
• The vast majority of jurors use their own
  resources effectively to ease any concerns
  arising from jury service.
• The JSP generally provides valuable support to
  its users.
• The JSP has adequate flexibility to respond to
  the needs of individual jurors.
• Demand for the JSP is unlikely ever to be high.
• The JSP is a cost efficient and effective support
  program for jurors.

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Open Forum

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