The Importance of Trial by Jury

Posted on September 13, 2007 by Dwayne Newton

I recently read a speech given by Federal Judge William Young on the importance of our country's jury system.  No where in the world does the citizenry  have the right to play such a vital role in government.  Unfortunately, our jury system is under attack from many different directions.  It is often widely criticized by those who have no experience or familiarity with it.  Even worse it is attacked by those special interests who seek to take advantage of those who most need the protections of it.  The jury has always been the protector of the weak from being overrun by the strong.   Judge Young's speech should be a must read for every adult and high school student in this country.  Here is an excerpt from his speech:

Yet the American jury system is dying. It is dying faster in the federal courts than in the state courts. It is dying faster on the civil side than that on the criminal side, but it is dying. It will never go entirely, but it is already marginalized. It is not at the center of our political discourse. How is this possible, with our Constitution and every one of the 50 state constitutions guaranteeing the right to trial by jury? The general answer is that we do not care.  

The entire speech can be downloaded here.  Download file

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Post Tort Reform Case Filings are as High as Pre-Tort Reform Levels

Posted on October 13, 2006 by Dwayne Newton

Over the last several months, most lawyers, clients and insurance adjusters I have talked to have indicated that in their opinion there are fewer cases being filed today in the Texas courts.  This is what would be expected since (1) we have had sweeping tort reform legislation in this State; (2) our Supreme Court is the most conservative it has been at any time in the last 20 years; and (3) juries in Harris County, Texas have become so defense oriented that it is often difficult to empanel a jury that will award medical expenses to the Plaintiff, much less in tangible damages. 

However, in spite of this, case filings have remained fairly constant.  Below is a table of personal injury case filings for Harris County, Texas since 2001.   This information was obtained from theTexas Office on Court Administration.  While there are some variations, new case filings since tort reform in both the motor vehicle category and non-motor vehicle category are as high, if not higher than they were in 2001 prior to the tort reform legislation of 2003.

New Personal Injury Case Filings
New Filings Motor Vehicle Injuries and Damages Average per month Non MVA injuries and Damages Average per month

2006

 2158  239.78 3163 351.44
2005 3128 260.67 6044 503.67
2004 2994 249.50 3743 311.92
2003 3434 286.17 3857 321.42
2002 3298 274.83 3448 287.33
2001 2874 239.40 3535 294.58

The slight increase in case filings in 2003 can be explained by the rush to file cases before the tort reform legislation became effective in September of 2003.  This can also be used to explain the slight decrease in 2004 from 2003.  However, 2004 filings in both categories higher than the 2001 filings.  In addition, filings for 2006 through September for non motor vehicle cases is on a pace to be significantly higher than the filings in 2001.  For motor vehicle related cases, the 2006 numbers appear to be about on pace to match the 2001 numbers and to be slightly down from 2005. 

What is not reflected in these numbers is the change in the number of medical malpractice filings since the tort reform legislation.  An article in this month's ABA Journal titled "Tort Reform Texas Style" indicates medical malpractice filings in Harris County, Texas are down 41% since tort reform.  If this is true, it means that filings for non-medical malpractice cases have increased to such an extent tht the overall filings is the same or slightly more.

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