Your Jury Box In The 21st Century Getting to Know (And Manage) The Millennial Juror

October 24, 2014

Litigation Management Magazine

The following is an excerpt from, "Your Jury Box In The 21st Century Getting to Know (And Manage) The Millennial Juror," originally published in the Fall 2014 issue of Litigation Management Magazine.

Forrest Gump’s mother once said, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” That same analogy can be used when considering juror demographics and when discussing litigation and the possibility of a trial — you just never know who will show up in your jury box. In years past, the carrier and attorney needed only to consider gender, race and possibly religious affiliation of potential jurors when discussing jury dangers. In today’s trial environment, attorneys and carriers must be far more cognizant of the varying generations that encompass your jury pool.

Generations, like people, have distinct and differing personalities. Each generation has its own values, attitudes and views of the way the world is — or should be. Of especial importance is the emergence of jurors from the millennial generation, which now contains more members than any other generation. Because they are now the largest generation, they are becoming more prevalent and influential on today’s juries. These millennial jurors have many characteristics that make them challenging jurors for defendants. When discussing the Millennial Generation, keep in mind that each person is inherently unique and although we are discussing the group in general terms, each Millennial is an individual and has differing personalities and characteristics. Before examining the Millennial juror let’s take a look at the general characteristics of all the generations.

For the full article, please use the following link: Your Jury Box In The 21st Century