CONCORD—Superior Court Chief Justice Walter L. Murphy and Associate Judge William J. Groff recently attended "Jury Summit 2001," a national conference on improving the jury system hosted by the New York State Court System and the National Center for State Courts.

In a letter inviting participants to the first of its kind summit, New York State Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye said the organizers wanted to bring judges, lawyers, court administrators, experts and former jurors together to learn more about the jury system and plan for long term improvements and innovations.

The event was sponsored by the Conference of Chief Justices, the Conference of State Court Administrators, the American Judges Association and the National Association for Court Management.

Murphy said the summit provided an opportunity to compare jury system procedures in New Hampshire to practices and experiences in other states.

He said issues covered at the conference that were of particular interest to New Hampshire included:

· post-verdict exit surveys of jurors

· in lengthy trials, allowing brief summations at the close of each week of testimony

· in the case of deadlocked juries, allowing lawyers to reargue the issues that have prevented a verdict

· shorten the term of service to make it more comfortable for jurors and allow more citizens to participate in the process

· improve juror orientation services

The conference was held in New York City from January 31 to February 3.