Juries

Published on: May 16, 2023

I’ve Been Called to Jury Duty – Now What?

By Paula Simon

As COVID restrictions ease across Oregon, the state’s circuit courts are resuming in-person trials. We have been getting questions about serving on a jury. Each county circuit court has their own procedures and rules, so it is always a good idea to contact the circuit court directly to get answers to your questions. Here are some sources that I found online that answered some of those questions.

The Oregon State Bar has a Juror handbook which answers in plain language many questions a prospective juror may have.

On the Oregon courts webpage they have posted a Juror Orientation video. It has comments from judges, attorneys, and former jurors about jury duty and re-enactments of parts of jury selection and a trial. There is also a FAQ section on the site about jury duty in general (not county-specific information) and a section on court etiquette.

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Published on: December 20, 2021

Blinded by Guilt and Butt-Dialing the Devil (Journal of Exp Social Psych)

By Laura Orr

Librarians advocate reading widely, especially outside one’s usual fields of interest or even research. (This is the opposite of what most “social media” (aka anti-social media) forces on their customers.)

I came across the phrase “blinded by guilt” in a lighthearted mystery novel and when I did a random search for the phrase, I came across the following article in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. (The “Butt-dialing the devil” article was just a bonus, listed in the “recommended articles” sidebar. Remember this rule: Always Read the Whole Screen.”

Litigators, civil and criminal, and litigants might find some value in the research, if only to store away for future reference.

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Published on: June 5, 2020

Supreme Courts’ (Oregon and U.S.) Opinions on Oregon’s Non-unanimous Juries

By Laura Orr

“Oregon Supreme Court Tosses Non-Unanimous Jury Conviction,” by Conrad Wilson, OPB June 5, 2020. Link to the Oregon Supreme Court website.

Read the U.S. Supreme Court opinion:
Ramos v. Louisiana, No. 18–5924. Argued October 7, 2019—Decided April 20, 2020. You can read the slip opinion at the U.S. Supreme Court’s website.