Survey predicts whiter, richer jurors

Many potential jurors in Houston and Dallas say they wouldn’t show up if called for jury duty because of the coronavirus pandemic, and those that would are likely to be white and more conservative, according to a new study.

A survey by the Tillotson Law Firm of 650 potential jurors in Houston and Dallas found that more than two-thirds said they either would refuse to show up for jury duty if called or would want a significant amount of assurance that their personal health would not be at risk before they would agree to attend.

Juries in Harris and Dallas counties during the COVID-19 pandemic would be significantly less diverse, the survey shows.

The Tillotson data found that jury pools today would comprise more white people, more men, people with more wealth, an increased number of Republicans and individuals who are considerably less friendly toward plaintiffs than juries before the crisis.

And there’s one additional warning: A significant percentage of the prospective jurors said they would be “very angry” if they were summonsed to jury duty at this time.

“We did the survey to find out who would show up for jury service — or even if people would show up — if the courts started conducting trials now,” said Dallas trial lawyer Jeff Tillotson, who represents businesses that are plaintiffs and defendants in litigation.

“The results show that the juries now would be far different from the juries prior to the pandemic

— much less diverse,” he said.

Harris County is set to resume limited jury service Monday at NRG Arena, starting with the selection of grand juries. The action is part of an exception to a state Supreme Court decision postponing jury trials until Aug. 1.

Tillotson said the survey found that 52 percent of those polled in Houston said they are concerned that the courthouse is unsafe, compared with 40 percent of those in Dallas.

The survey found that 21 percent of prospective jurors in Houston and 19 percent in Dallas “felt that there were ‘no measures’ that could be taken that would make them feel safe.”

Fifty-six percent of people in

both cities felt that civil jury trials, such as business versus business litigation, should be delayed or not conducted until the pandemic is “better under control.”

In addition, 44 percent of Houstonians and 36 percent of Dallasites would be “very angry if called for a jury trial at this time.” The survey was conducted between June 6 and 12.

Tillotson said the two federal judges who have conducted trials this month — U.S. Chief District Judge Barbara Lynn of the Northern District of Texas and U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant III of the Eastern District of Texas — should be commended because they showed that jury trials can be done safely.

“I applaud Judge Lynn and

Judge Mazzant for going to extreme lengths for demonstrating that measures can be taken to greatly reduce the risks of the jurors and lawyers involved,” he said. “Unfortunately, those same measures cannot be replicated in state courts because there are just too many jury trials and so many more prospective jurors — hundreds of them — would need to be called for jury service.”

The survey found that 58 percent of potential jurors felt that social distancing should be required by court officials, while 57 percent said face masks should be the protocol.

The survey found that 45 percent of African American respondents faced an economic hardship if they were required to participate in a multiday jury trial, compared with only 31 percent of the white people in the poll.

Black people surveyed also were 30 percent more likely to qualify for a COVID-19 jury duty exemption, such as being in a high-risk category or working at a hospital, than white people. The jury attendance numbers for Hispanics, according to Tillotson, were only slightly better than those for African Americans.

“The survey shows that the jury pool showing during the time of COVID-19 will not be as representative of the community as it should be,” Tillotson said.