WHEREAS, The right to a trial by jury is one of the core values of American citizenship; and
WHEREAS, The obligation and privilege to serve as a juror are as fundamental to our democracy as the right to vote; and
WHEREAS, Our courts depend upon citizens to serve as jurors; and
WHEREAS, Service by citizens as jurors is indispensable to the judicial system; and
WHEREAS, More citizens should be encouraged to respond when summoned for jury service; and
WHEREAS, A continuing and imperative goal for the courts, the bar, and civic organizations, is to ensure that jury selection and jury service are fair, effective, and not unduly burdensome to our community; and
WHEREAS, The courts, the bar, civic associations, and individual citizens should have greater appreciation for the jury system and for the thousands of citizens who annually give of their time and talents to serve on juries; and
WHEREAS, The goals of Juror Appreciation Week are applauding the efforts of jurors who fulfill this most important civic duty; educating the public about jury duty and the importance of jury service; ensuring that the responsibility of jury service is shared fairly among citizens and that a fair cross section of the community is called for jury service; ensuring that all jurors are treated with respect and that their service is not unduly burdensome; providing jurors with tools that will assist their decision-making; and continuing to improve the jury system in the City of Philadelphia by encouraging productive dialogue between jurors and court; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED
,
BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That Council does hereby commemorate October 17th, 2016 as Juror Appreciation Week in the City of Philadelphia and that the undersigned support the celebration of this week which shall include various activities, in furtherance of the aforementioned goals.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this Resolution be presented to President Judge Woods-Skipper as evidence of the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.
End