The most critical decision when recruiting for a mock jury is determining the panel’s demographic composition. Many trial teams instinctually turn to census data or judicial district demographics to create the panel’s makeup. However the most predictive mock juries are the ones that mirror the demographics of actual seated juries, not the general population.
Who Actually Serves?
The difference between who lives in a judicial district, who receives a jury summons, who appears for jury duty and who is seated on juries. Each stage of this process creates a filter that changes the demographic makeup of the final panel.
Education is a key line in jury selection
Educational attainment is often one demographic area that shows significant differences between an area’s demographics and the demographics of juries. 40 percent of a city’s population might have a bachelor’s degree or higher, but people with bachelor’s degrees are overrepresented on juries. In this city, 50 to 60 percent of jurors may have a bachelor’s degree or higher. This overrepresentation occurs because individuals with higher education levels often have more workplace flexibility and lower rates of hardship excuses.
A mock jury in this city should reflect the 50 to 60 percent college-educated composition to accurately mirror the demographics and dynamics of the trial jury.
How this changes trial outcomes
Mock juries serve one purpose, to help trial teams predict how a real jury will respond to a case. Using census demographics or voter regisgration data creates a mock jury that doesn’t exist and you will be testing the case before a jury that will never hear it.
A jury with a different demographic composition will result in different verdicts and different monetary awards. Educational attainment correlates with social groups, people of different ages have different live experiences and occupation influences how jurors process expert testimony. When a mock jury’s demographics don’t match actual seated juries, the findings are misleading.
Seating your mock jury
At EmCee Research, we work with trial teams to seat mock juries based on jury composition data from the trial’s venue and to recruit mock jurors who mirror the real-world juries. This data-driven approach requires more upfront research than pulling census data, but unlike mock juries based on census data, EmCee Research’s mock juries have a strong likelihood of predicting trial outcomes.
Contact our mock jury team to invest in mock jury research that delivers results that reflect real courtrooms.