A LATTE BEFORE THE TRIAL, PLEASE.

• Position: Jury duty - Brief Article

There would be no judicial system without citizens willing to sit on a jury. So a movement began about three years ago to make the system more humane after data showed a decline in the public's respect for the judiciary and for institutions in general. Reformers view their goal as nothing less than a way to safeguard democracy itself. In New York, Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye has appointed a team to transform the forbidding courts. So far, the group has helped reduce...