US Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor will make a special appearance at the District of Columbia courthouse to personally thank jurors for their service on Thursday, Dec. 9, at 1 p.m.  Chief Judge Annice Wagner, DC Court of Appeals, and Chief Judge Rufus King, Superior Court of DC, will join Justice O’Connor.  
 
Justice O’Connor, who is serving as honorary chair of the American Bar Association’s Commission on the American Jury, will open a press conference at which ABA President Robert J. Grey Jr. and others will outline ABA efforts to modernize jury service.  Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye, State of New York Court of Appeals and chair of the ABA Commission on the American Jury, will unveil her commission’s national outreach campaign.  American Jury Project Chair Patricia Refo will release new comprehensive principles designed to ease juror service, create more representative panels, and move jury trials into the 21st century.  The ABA House of Delegates will consider the principles at its February 2005 meeting.    
 
CONFIRMED MEDIA ONLY. REPORTERS MUST REGISTER BY NOON EST WEDNESDAY, DEC. 8. Advance registration must include names of reporters, videographers, or photographers and any equipment they will bring.

• All press must present government-issued photo credentials.  
• All equipment must be in place by 12:45 p.m.  
• To protect juror privacy, video and photographs will be allowed only from behind jurors, and no potentially identifying video or photos may be taken.  

For more information please download the PDF.