20
May 2021
Jury Trials In 2021
As courthouses across the country are opening up Trial Methods set out to take the pulse of the public by collecting data online from over 300 jury-eligible people from 15 counties across the country. The first part of the study was conducted in June of 2020. To supplement our knowledge-base and see how things compare to 10 months ago, the second part took place in April of 2021. These counties were selected because they represent a range of geographically, demographically and politically diverse subsets of the population.
One of the questions we asked was whether participants called for jury duty in the near future, assuming they were available, would show up on the day of their summons and avail themselves to jury service. We found that 79% indicated they would appear while 21% said they would not. This is a 4% increase from 11 months ago when 75% said they would appear for jury duty. For those saying they would not show up we asked why. The most common responses were some variation of:
- I do not want to be in crowds; I am avoiding large groups
- Fear of Covid
- Scared to be in enclosed place for many hours with many people
- I am at risk (some mentioned their age which was usually above 70)
One thing we will keep an eye on is how the vaccine rollout affects confidence in the safety of public gatherings such as jury duty. Some respondents mentioned they have not received both doses of a vaccine or would like to wait until vaccinated. With more and more people being vaccinated fewer and fewer will be reluctant to stay home and shun jury duty.
Attitudes of Post Covid-19 Jurors
Below is a series of questions we asked panelists about Covid-19 which we will continue to track in future jury research.
| June 2020 | April 2021 | Percent Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
I will do my best to avoid large groups of people until there is a vaccine for Covid-19
|
85% | 81% | -4% |
|
I will do my best to avoid large groups of people until there is an effective treatment for Covid-19
|
82% | 82% | -0% |
| I worry about a loved one getting the coronavirus | 82% | 75% | -7% |
| It would be unfair to expect citizens to show up for jury duty during the current Covid-19 pandemic | 75% | 70% | -5% |
| Most corporations are trying to do the right things during this pandemic | 67% | 69% | +2% |
| Companies will use the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse to get out of bad business decisions | 64% | 68% | +4% |
| Companies will use the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse to get out of unfavorable contracts | 60% | 56% | -4% |
| Corporations are more concerned with profits than they are protecting employees from Covid-19 | 59% | 56% | -3% |
| Corporations are using Covid-19 as an excuse to get away with things they never used to get away with | 57% | 61% | +4% |
| It is okay for tenants to get out of leases due to the Covid-19 pandemic | 57% | 55% | -2% |
| The Covid-19 pandemic has taken a financial toll on me | 55% | 49% | -6% |
| The Covid-19 pandemic has taken an emotional toll on me | 55% | 60% | +5% |
| Discrimination is getting worse during the Covid-19 pandemic | 54% | 60% | +6% |
| Corporations are using Covid-19 to take advantage of employees | 53% | 56% | +3% |
| Corporations that have helped during the Covid-19 crisis should be given the benefit of the doubt in a legal dispute | 53% | 39% | -14% |
| Corporations trying to help out during Covid-19 are just doing it for the good publicity | 50% | 44% | -6% |
| If I was called to jury duty during this pandemic and ended up serving I would be mad at one or both or all of the parties involved for making me sit as a juror | 46% | 43% | -3% |
| The media has overblown the public health risks associated with Covid-19 | 42% | 43% | +1% |
| I would have less sympathy for someone bringing a lawsuit during the Covid-19 pandemic | 41% | 27% | -14% |
| Lockdowns in my state have gone on for way too long | 36% | 38% | +2% |
| The government has overreacted to the public health risks associated with Covid-19 | 34% | 36% | +2% |
In January of 2017, Trial Methods asked participants nationwide a series of litigation related questions online and has been tracking such questions every January since then. Below is a summary of how respondents answered the questions over the years with the updated June of 2020 sample in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. The percent change column on the right shows any shift in attitudes between June of 2020 and April of this year.
LAWSUITS VS. CORPORATIONS
| 2017 Percent Agree |
2018 Percent Agree |
2019 Percent Agree |
June 2020 Covid-19 |
April 2021 Covid-19 |
Percent Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plaintiffs often exaggerate their claims in order to increase damage awards | 74% | 66% | 63% | 66% | 65% | -1% |
| Making corporations pay big jury awards is the best way to make them follow the law | 69% | 66% | 81% | 70% | 70% | 0% |
| If a case makes it to trial it is likely there is some truth to the plaintiff’s claims | 59% | 58% | 61% | 65% | 60% | -5% |
| It would be difficult for me to deliver a jury verdict that meant an injured party would receive no money | 53% | 55% | 56% | 55% | 55% | 0% |
| If you heard about allegations of corporate misconduct which would you be most likely to believe? | 2017 Percent Agree |
2018 Percent Agree |
2019 Percent Agree |
June 2020 Covid-19 |
April 2021 Covid-19 |
Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The corporation did something wrong | 59% | 74% | 74% | 72% | 71% | -1% |
| Someone is trying to get some easy money | 41% | 26% | 26% | 28% | 29% | +1% |
| Generally do you think individuals who file lawsuits are: | 2017 Percent Agree |
2018 Percent Agree |
2019 Percent Agree |
June 2020 Covid-19 |
April 2021 Covid-19 |
Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trying to place responsibility where it belongs | 64% | 80% | 80% | 69% | 70% | +1% |
| Refusing to take responsibility for their actions | 36% | 20% | 20% | 31% | 30% | -1% |
| Do you agree or disagree with the idea of awarding punitive damages? | 2017 Percent Agree |
2018 Percent Agree |
2019 Percent Agree |
June 2020 Covid-19 |
April 2021 Covid-19 |
Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strongly agree | 29% | 21% | 31% | 27% | 29% | +2% |
| Tend to agree | 57% | 69% | 52% | 60% | 53% | -7% |
| Tend to disagree | 14% | 9% | 17% | 12% | 14% | +2% |
| Strongly disagree | 0% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 5% | +5% |
CORPORATION VS. CORPORATION
| 2017 Percent Agree |
2018 Percent Agree |
2019 Percent Agree |
June 2020 Covid-19 |
April 2020 Covid-19 |
Percent Change |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Companies frequently sue other companies for bad business deals | 73% | 65% | 64% | 60% | 60% | 0% |
| A company will break a contract if it thinks it can get away with it | 72% | 79% | 77% | 75% | 67% | -8% |
CORPORATE ETHICS
| 2017 Percent Agree |
2018 Percent Agree |
2019 Percent Agree |
June 2020 Covid-19 |
April 2021 Covid-19 |
Percent Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corporations are more unethical today than they were 5 years ago | 58% | 61% | 52% | 62% | 60% | -2% |
| Juries should punish corporations for unethical conduct even if that conduct was legal | 45% | 53% | 52% | 61% | 56% | -5% |
EMPLOYMENT LITIGATION
| 2017 Percent Agree |
2018 Percent Agree |
2019 Percent Agree |
June 2020 Covid-19 |
April 2021 Covid-19 |
Percent Change |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| We need to strengthen laws against employer discrimination in this country | 66% | 84% | 84% | 82% | 82% | 0% |
| How common is race discrimination on the job in the U.S.? | 2017 Percent Agree |
2018 Percent Agree |
2019 Percent Agree |
June 2020 Covid-19 |
April 2021 Covid-19 |
Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very common | 17% | 28% | 24% | 24% | 29% | +5% |
| Common | 48% | 42% | 49% | 54% | 49% | -5% |
| Uncommon | 32% | 26% | 24% | 19% | 19% | 0% |
| Very uncommon | 3% | 4% | 3% | 2% | 4% | +2% |
| How common is gender discrimination on the job in the U.S.? | 2017 Percent Agree |
2018 Percent Agree |
2019 Percent Agree |
June 2020 Covid-19 |
April 2021 Covid-19 |
Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very common | 21% | 36% | 26% | 20% | 29% | +9% |
| Common | 44% | 45% | 50% | 50% | 45% | -5% |
| Uncommon | 29% | 16% | 22% | 25% | 25% | 0% |
| Very uncommon | 6% | 3% | 2% | 5% | 2% | -3% |
POLICE
| 2017 Percent Agree |
2018 Percent Agree |
2019 Percent Agree |
June 2020 Covid-19 |
April 2021 Covid-19 |
Percent Change |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Police officers think they are above the law | 48% | 51% | 58% | 58% | 56% | -2% |
| It is common for a police officer to use excessive force | 43% | 42% | 55% | 54% | 54% | 0% |
| I worry about my loved ones being injured by a police officer | 28% | 32% | 43% | 52% | 42% | -10% |