FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 30, 2006

CONTACT: Lisa Lacher, (515) 271-3119, lisa.lacher@drake.edu

DRAKE SERIES ON JUSTICE SYSTEM TO FOCUS ON JURIES

“The Jury and the American Litigation Process” will be the focus of a joint program on the U.S. justice system sponsored by the American Judicature Society and Drake Law School. The program, which is free and open to the public, will take place from 3 to 5:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, in room 213 of Cartwright Hall, 27th Street and Carpenter Avenue.

Drake law professor David McCord will discuss how the jury has evolved in American history, with primary focus on the "jury reform" movement that has gathered steam over the past two decades. He will examine the slow transition from juries as passive recipients of information to the emerging model of jurors as active learners. This movement has received support through the new American Bar Association Jury Trial Principles, adopted last February. McCord will examine the impact of the new principles.

Judge Dale E. Ruigh of the Iowa District Court will give a presentation on “plain English” jury instructions. He will provide a historical overview of the conversion of jury instructions from “legalese” into plain English, both in Iowa and elsewhere. He also will address methods for drafting and communicating instructions to the jury for maximum comprehension.

Attorney Timothy Eckley of the American Judicature Society will talk about the phenomenon of the "vanishing jury trial," which has been noted with alarm by many researchers. He will trace the numerical decline in trials over the past 40 years, propose causes for the trends and discuss possible remedial measures.

This is the third program of the four-part AJS/Drake Law School Series on the justice system. The final program of this inaugural series, “How the Media Impacts Judicial Independence and Accountability,” will be held Feb. 28. For more information, call (515) 271-2281.

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