Happy Juror Appreciation Week, California!

As many of you may know, juries are a major part of my current career. So, in honor of this year's Juror Appreciation Week mandated by the California Legislature to celebrate those who serve as jurors, I thought I would share some interesting information about juries here and abroad.

The first jury trial in America was held in 1630 in Plymouth. The case was that of John Billington who was accused of murdering fellow Mayflower colonist John Newcomin. The jury found the defendant guilty of "willful murder by plain and notorious evidence," and he was executed by hanging. Governor John Bradford later wrote that the jury had taken "all possible pains in the trial."

Eliza Stewart Boyd was the first woman in America ever selected to serve on a jury. In March 1870, her name was drawn from the voters’ roll to serve on the grand jury to be convened later that month. Soon after the grand jury was convened, five other Laramie women made history becoming the first women in the world to serve on a trial jury. The women on the grand jury and the trial jury were selected less than six months after Wyoming's first territorial legislature granted women equal political rights.

The first African Americans ever to serve on a jury in America were two who sat in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1860. Sadly, their names and the details of the case they participated in were not recorded. Ironically, it was during the Reconstruction period of American history that we saw the greatest levels of participation of Black people in our jury system, with representation amounting to up to 35% of those serving as jurors. Even by today's standards, Black people are systematically excluded from our juries at far higher rates in most states, particularly compared to the Reconstruction era.

Lastly, we have the first jury trial ever held in California, empaneled on September 4, 1846, by Walter Colton, who was the alcade (a type of magistrate from the traditional Spanish office) of Monterey. The case was Graham v. Roussillon, a dispute over the property and reputations of the men involved. You can read about it here.

Please feel free to share your own jury service stories or historical anecdotes!

In the meantime, I want to encourage people to look at the California courts webpage for this year's celebrations (if you haven't already). There you'll find information about jury service, interesting statistics, public resources, relevant news stories, and even games! 

Take note and take care.