The Foreperson and His/Her Flock of Jurors

Question

• Who is the Jury Foreman and does he/she have influence over his or her fellow jurors? Research suggests that Forepersons do, in fact, have more impact on trial outcomes than the average juror.

Key Term

• Foreperson (Presiding Juror) - "A jury foreman is a jury member who acts as the chairman and spokesperson for the jury. He or she is the head juror. A jury foreman is often elected by either the jury or the judge of a civil or criminal case. A jury member may also volunteer to hold this position. This position is usually appointed or assigned either before the trial begins or prior to deliberations."

Who is the Foreperson?

• Over the years, studies have identified patterns in Foreperson traits and attributes. See below:
• Gender 
• Forepersons are most often men. 
•  In 2010, "a study with mock juries done by Ellison and Munro found that despite a near-even gender split, only 2 of 14 nominated forepersons were women, the remaining 12 were men."
• Age
• Forepersons are less likely to be young (ages between 18-35 years old). 
• In the above referenced 2010 study, "the majority (65%) of forepersons fell in the highest age group of 45 to 65, despite the fact that only 35% of the jurors made up that group."
• Personality 
• In a 2007 study conducted by Clark, Boccaccini, Caillouet, and Chaplin, "a Five Factor Model of personality traits done on 764 jury venire members in a Southeastern state found that juror extraversion played a significant role in determining jury foreperson."

Forepersons' Effects On Deliberation

• "The foreperson can play a critical role in leading the jury to a verdict. He is in a unique position from which to influence the style and direction of the discussion and usually participates more than any other juror. In more than one study, the foreperson spoke nearly three times as much as the average juror.  Even though the foreperson frequently summarized the points made by other jurors, the magnitude of difference in participation rates suggests that the foreperson contributed disproportionately to the jury deliberations." Nancy S. Marder (Yale Law Journal, 1987). 

Real Life Example

• A state Supreme Court in Florida was forced to order a mistrial of an alleged MS-13 gang member after an alternate juror reported to the Presiding Judge that the Jury Foreman had made biased remarks during deliberations. Reportedly, the Jury Foreman commented that "we should all send them back" implicating the defendant's race. The alternate juror, who reported the Foreperson's misconduct, asked to be removed from jury service because "I’m pretty sure they’re going to think everybody is the same over here, a Spanish person, you know?"