The Jury and Democracy

How Jury Deliberation Promotes Civic Engagement and Political Participation

John Gastil, E. Pierre Deess, Philip J. Weiser, and Cindy Simmons

First book to present strong empirical evidence linking jury service and increased civic participation
Demonstrates the impact jury service has on even the most disengaged citizens
Based on original research and interviews, and includes a wealth of data

The Jury and Democracy

How Jury Deliberation Promotes Civic Engagement and Political Participation

John Gastil, E. Pierre Deess, Philip J. Weiser, and Cindy Simmons

Description

Alexis de Tocqueville, John Stuart Mill, and the U.S. Supreme Court have all alleged that jury service promotes civic and political engagement, yet none could prove it. Finally, The Jury and Democracy provides compelling systematic evidence to support this view.

Drawing from in-depth interviews, thousands of juror surveys, and court and voting records from across the United States, the authors show that serving on a jury can trigger changes in how citizens view themselves, their peers, and their government--and can even significantly increase electoral turnout among infrequent voters. Jury service also sparks long-term shifts in media use, political action, and community involvement.

In an era when involved Americans are searching for ways to inspire their fellow citizens, The Jury and Democracy offers a plausible and realistic path for turning passive spectators into active political participants.

The Jury and Democracy

How Jury Deliberation Promotes Civic Engagement and Political Participation

John Gastil, E. Pierre Deess, Philip J. Weiser, and Cindy Simmons

The Jury and Democracy

How Jury Deliberation Promotes Civic Engagement and Political Participation

John Gastil, E. Pierre Deess, Philip J. Weiser, and Cindy Simmons

Author Information

John Gastil is Professor of Communication and Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Washington.

E. Pierre Deess is Director of Institutional Research and Planning at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Philip J. Weiser is Professor of Law at the University of Colorado.

Cindy Simmons is an attorney who teaches Mass Media Law and Negotiation at the University of Washington.

The Jury and Democracy

How Jury Deliberation Promotes Civic Engagement and Political Participation

John Gastil, E. Pierre Deess, Philip J. Weiser, and Cindy Simmons

Reviews and Awards

Winner of the NCA Group Communication Division Ernest Bormann Research Award for the Oustanding Book for 2011

"Written in engaging prose without sacrificing analytical rigor, this book is a must-read for scholars and students of the American jury system, as well as anyone interested in the effect that citizen participation in government institutions has on the strength of a democratic society." --Harvard Law Review

"This book has a profound message, and the message is backed up with solidly designed and implemented research...The authors bring several different disciplinary perspectives to their ground-breaking study...This is a provocative, well done examination of American juries that also evidences a deep understanding of the role juries have played and can play in American history. I recommend it to all scholars who study juries, the justice system, and American democracy." --Judicature

"This profoundly important and highly readable book offers the most thorough examination yet of the impact of serving on a jury. Anyone who cares about how juries affect our democracy should read this book." --Valerie Hans, co-author of American Juries and Professor of Law, Cornell University

"Most people think citizenship begins with voting and ends with taxes. But jury service is in truth more critical to and definitive of democracy. In their rich study of the place of the jury in democracy, Gastil and his colleagues offer powerful evidence showing how jury service can create social capital and transform citizens. Their study is a persuasive portrait of juries but an equally compelling celebration of democracy's possibilities--a welcome riposte to the political cynicism of a polarized America." --Benjamin R. Barber, author of Strong Democracy and Distinguished Senior Fellow, Demos

"I have been waiting decades for a study like this. For the first time we have data on a large sample showing indisputably that taking civic responsibility in one realm promotes taking civil responsibility later in another. This groundbreaking, careful, and illuminating study is a must for anyone interested in what political theorists have long called the 'educative effects' of participation." --Jane Mansbridge, Adams Professor of Political Leadership and Democratic Values, Kennedy School, Harvard University

"The Jury and Democracy is an ambitious book---it includes far more data, and suggestive arguments on the connections between the jury system, public engagement, and democracy than are possible to summarize here. ... It will be of interest to scholars of criminal justice and the sociology of law, as well as those more broadly concerned with civic engagement, the public sphere, and democratic theory." --Contemporary Sociology