High School Students Experience Jury Service as Part of Nationwide Judiciary Program

Across the country, students experienced jury service as a rite of passage to adult citizenship at their local federal courthouses. As part of an ongoing national federal judiciary initiative called Open Doors to Federal Courts, this program engaged students in jury selection, trial, deliberation, and verdict. The 2002 program theme is Jury Service: A Rite of Passage.

In advance of the courtroom simulation, participating high school seniors received summons and sample juror questionnaires. Teachers then dedicated a class period to a lesson plan that prepared students for the jury event. The student trial jurors journeyed to the courtrooms, where they observed testimony in an abbreviated trial, deliberated, and reached and announced a verdict to the courtroom. After the trial simulation, federal judges, volunteer attorneys, and probation and pretrial services officers facilitated a debriefing so students could voice their opinions and ask questions.

More than 60 federal courts are participating in this event. Visit our Educational Outreach page for more information.