Updates

This latest collaboration between the Trust in Justice Project, ABOTA, and the American Society of Trial Consultants aims to collect the best practices from judges, attorneys, trial consultants, and court administrators from around the country and develop a resource guide for the legal profession on how to better conduct jury trials. We are asking for your help, experience, and expertise in developing this guide. Below is a Google Forms link that will allow you to provide practices, suggestions, tips, resources, research, or individuals who conduct especially good work in the following areas:

• Best practices in obtaining a representative cross-section of community

• Best practices in jury selection to obtain a fair and impartial jury

• Best practices in trial communication to assist a jury in making the most informed decision in a case

Jury trials allow direct citizen participation in our justice system. They are one of the cornerstones of our democracy. Yet, they are exceedingly rare. This project aims to empower judges, attorneys, and court personnel to preserve this cherished system.

Richard Gabriel will be working with the New York County Lawyers Association and Amicus Curiae host Daniel Wiig to discuss how judges, lawyers, and the media can start rebuilding public trust in our justice system. Joining Richard is Hon. Rowan D. Wilson, Chief Judge of the State of New York & the New York Court of Appeals, Hon. Elizabeth Stong, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, Hon. Michael McMahon, Richmond County District Attorney, Twyla Carter, CEO & Attorney-In-Chief, The Legal Aid Society, and Linda Kenney Baden, Host, Law & Crime Network.

Why does the public distrust the justice system, and how do we fix it? In our latest Law360 feature, Richard Gabriel and Michelle Rey LaRocca share findings from the Trust in Justice Project's first two phases: (1) survey research on public attitudes toward the justice system, and (2) focus groups exploring the experiences and emotions behind these beliefs. We also examine systemic and cultural causes of eroding trust and propose reforms to restore confidence.

Richard Gabriel and Michelle Rey LaRocca sat down with TJE editor Clint Townson to discuss the project in more detail. 

Richard Gabriel spoke at a Tex-ABOTA event in Houston honoring jurors who had participated in jury service. Jurors shared their experiences with the gathered lawyers and judges, as well as their recommendations on how to improve jury trials.

In this wide ranging discussion, Richard Gabriel discusses the the Trust In Justice Project’s latest report which details the specific causes of the public’s plummeting confidence in  the justice system as well as methods to restore the public’s faith in the courts, juries, law enforcement, corrections, and the media.

This report is the culmination of a two-year project where we conducted national polling and numerous focus groups to understand the causes of this lost confidence and to provide solutions to improve the public’s trust. This report discusses the cultural and systemic issues that have contributed to the erosion of trust, including the influence of the media, rhetoric and propaganda on our national psyche.  More than an academic exercise, the report features the experiences of real people in their encounters with our system. This report is for anyone who wants to better understand the forces that shape our societal opinions and to gain insight into the numerous practices, resources, and improvements that can serve to restore the public’s trust in this important system in our democracy.

At the ASTC's Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., Richard Gabriel's opening address set a strong tone by highlighting the public's waning trust in the justice system, discussing reasons for that distrust, and calling on trial consultants to play a pivotal role in rebuilding that trust.

At the ASTC's Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., Richard Gabriel's opening address set a strong tone by highlighting the public's waning trust in the justice system, discussing reasons for that distrust, and calling on trial consultants to play a pivotal role in rebuilding that trust.