State Courts Witness Sharp Decline in Jury Trials: A Decade-Long Trend Preceding COVID-19

Jury trials have continued to “vanish” from state courts, a trend that has persisted even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite a slight increase following the pandemic-related shutdowns, data indicates a significant decline in the number of jury trials conducted in recent years. Specifically, the number of jury trials in 2021 was less than half of that in 2019 and only about one-third of the total held in 2007, according to a recent report from the National Center for State Courts.