BILL NUMBER: ACR 118 INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Morrow MARCH 12, 1998 Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 118--Relative to Juror Appreciation Week. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST ACR 118, as introduced, Morrow. Juror Appreciation Week. This measure would proclaim the week of May 10, 1998, to May 16, 1998, inclusive, and the 2nd full week in May, annually, to be Juror Appreciation Week. Fiscal committee: no. WHEREAS, The Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the State of California provide for trial by jury as an essential right of citizenship; and WHEREAS, The right to a jury trial in both criminal and civil cases is guaranteed to every citizen as a fundamental component of the American legal system; and WHEREAS, Over 500,000 California citizens annually participate in the judicial process by serving as trial jurors; and WHEREAS, The Blue Ribbon Commission on Jury System Improvement formed by the Judicial Council of California, the policy-making body for California's courts, emphasized in its final report to the California Legislature that an effective jury system is of critical importance to public respect for the rule of law; and WHEREAS, The Jury Education Management Forum, a statewide organization of jury managers operating under the auspices of the California Association of Trial Court Administrators, is working in partnership with the judiciary and staff of all California trial courts to educate the public about jury service and to recognize individuals who have generously committed their time in jury service and in continuing support of the jury system; and WHEREAS, The Jury Education Management Forum, with the concurrence of the California Association of Trial Court Administrators and the Judicial Council of California, has requested that the week of May 10, 1998 to May 16, 1998, inclusive, and the second full week in May of each year thereafter be designated as the annual Juror Appreciation Week, a special time for the recognition of jury service and the role it plays in a democratic society; and WHEREAS, The California Legislature joins with the Judicial Council of California and the California trial courts in encouraging all citizens to support the jury system and appear when summoned for service, thereby fulfilling this most important civic responsibility shared by every member of a democracy; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the week of May 10, 1998, to May 16, 1998, inclusive, and the second full week in May of each year thereafter shall be proclaimed and celebrated as annual Juror Appreciation Week throughout the state, in honor of the thousands of citizens who support the jury system, thereby making the cherished right of trial by jury a reality; and, be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the Jury Education Management Forum, the California Association of Trial Court Administrators, and the Judicial Council of California.