The impact of jury service on support for the local court system

The impact of jury service on the citizen's level of support for local courts was examined. Random samples of jurors and nonjurors in Harris County, Texas were interviewed. On the basis of contact theory it was hypothesized that court contact would affect the level of support the citizen had for the courts. The findings provide confirmation of the hypothesis: jurors who found jury service a satisfactory experience had the highest levels of diffuse support; jurors who found jury service a dissatisfactory experience had the lowest levels of diffuse support; and nonjurors had levels of support which fell between those of the satisfied and dissatisfied jurors. The effects of socio-economic status participation did not attenuate the relationship between court contact and court support. The jurors' evaluation of the administrative procedures used in the jury selection and utilization process were related to the satisfaction and dissatisfaction the jurors reported.