Stamp of Approval for Jury Service
ABA.com

Video of Jury Stamp Ceremony

New York City's mayor reports for jury duty
MSNBC, August 6, 2007

The State of the Judiciary 2007
Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye discusses new initiatives for improving jury service in New York State.

View the Webcast of Chief Judge Kaye’s address
Read the Report (PDF)

Since 1993, Justice Judith S. Kaye has served as the Chief Judge of the State of New York. In that role, she not only makes important decisions about legal matters appealed to the state's highest court, but guides the operation of the courts throughout the state.

Jury reform has been a particular passion of Justice Kaye. Every year, she reports to the State Legislature on the courts and these are some of her thoughts about the status of jury reform in 2007. The links above take you to the full report.

...(T)o another of my all-time favorite subjects - jury reform. Every year I acknowledge the progress we have made and underscore the fact that we are not, and we will never be, truly finished. I firmly believe that the work of jury reform is never finished. It requires ongoing attention not only to keep moving forward but also to guard against losing ground. Old habits die hard.

For the year ahead, we have planned three new initiatives to help sustain the momentum we've achieved. First, within the next few months we will complete a Best Practices Guide for jury system administration in New York, codifying the lessons learned from our fourteen years of jury reform and updating it with ongoing innovation. Second, within the Office of Court Administration, we will be forming a Jury System Academy so that judges and jury staff throughout the State stay current about best practices and the very latest research. And third, Judge Lippman and I will be creating a new position within the Office of Court Administration - a Statewide Commissioner of Jurors, soon to be announced - with responsibility to support jury operations, assure continuous jury reform, keep the Best Practices Guide up-to-date and oversee the Jury System Academy....

...(T)he jury reform road traveled since 1993 is indeed an impressive one in many respects, not the least of them the legislation that has moved our jury system into the new century. This has genuinely been a cross-government enterprise in the public interest in which we all can take pride.