California Courts to Make Language Used in Jury Service More Gender Inclusive

This summer, the California courts are updating language used in jury service materials to be more gender inclusive, like changing the phrase “his or her jury service” to “a person’s jury service.”

The updates help minimize gender bias and create a more welcoming environment for transgender jurors, nonbinary jurors, or other jurors that may not identify with the traditional gender binary. Approximately 220,000 transgender and nonbinary adults live in California.

Updates to Jury Service Standards, Rules, and Forms 

Earlier this year, the Judicial Council’s Advisory Committee on Providing Access and Fairness made recommendations to improve gender inclusivity in jury materials. Following those recommendations, the council adopted a new standard of judicial administration (a guideline for the courts) and updated three rules of court, two juror forms, and sample scripts used in jury selection. 

“Building a welcoming environment for every juror fosters public trust in the justice system,” says San Francisco County Judge Michael Rhoads, a council member and a member of the Advisory Committee on Providing Access and Fairness. “The Judicial Council’s important work ensures that our juries represent the people they serve.  When people from all backgrounds feel respected and empowered to participate, our courts and our communities are stronger.”

The new standard of judicial administration provides the courts with ways to promote gender inclusivity, including: 

• Avoid assuming the gender of a juror who has not indicated the pronouns they use.
• Avoid seeking information about the gender of jurors unless it is necessary or relevant.
• If it is necessary or relevant, provide jurors with the option to indicate their gender identity or expression, allowing for multiple selections and a write-in option. 

The council also made updates to specific phrases in rules for court proceedings. The phrases include using “a person’s jury service” instead of “his or her jury service,” “prospective juror” instead of “mother” for potential deferrals of jury service due to breastfeeding, and “the prospective juror” instead of “himself or herself” for potential deferrals of jury service due to financial burden. 

Other updates to optional questionnaires for prospective jurors included removing a question asking about the sex of a juror’s children and changing referrals to a juror’s parents, spouse, or significant other to gender-neutral terms.

Lastly, the council amended two existing standards of judicial administration, which provide scripts for judges to use during jury selection. The changes include expanding the list of characteristics that might be subject to bias and using gender-neutral terms to refer to judges, attorneys, or others in the courtroom.

Education for Judges on Gender Inclusivity 

In addition to updating its standards and rules, the council also revised several reference materials for judges about ensuring access for LGBTQ+ people. The updated materials cover subjects like using inclusive language and pronouns, considerations for LGBTQ+ youth, and general best practices for inclusion of LGBTQ+ people during court proceedings.

Council and Courts Have Long Recognized the Importance of Language

Gender-inclusive language not only serves transgender and nonbinary communities but historically has helped endorse the inclusion of women in legal, professional, and social spaces. 

Many words in the English language are masculinized, such as freshman, manpower, policeman, or congressman. Over the years, some of these words have been updated, like police officer or congressperson, to reflect the presence and contributions of women and other people that don’t identify as male. 

Recognizing the importance of this type of language, more than 30 years ago the council adopted new rules of court to help address this issue. The council updated jury instructions to include “she” and “her” pronouns to refer to jurors, attorneys, and litigants. This helped diminish the gender bias that only men were participating in the judicial process. In addition to updating jury instructions, the council approved 66 other recommendations from its Advisory Committee on Gender Bias in the Courts. 

Recognizing the importance of this type of language, more than 30 years ago the council adopted new rules of court to help address this issue. The council updated jury instructions to include “she” and “her” pronouns to refer to jurors, attorneys, and litigants. This helped diminish the gender bias that only men were participating in the judicial process. In addition to updating jury instructions, the council approved 66 other recommendations from its Advisory Committee on Gender Bias in the Courts.

Judicial Council Committed to Providing Access and Fairness

The council’s Advisory Committee on Providing Access and Fairness makes recommendations for improving access to the judicial system, fairness in the state courts, diversity in the judicial branch, and court services for self-represented parties. Key projects of this advisory body are outlined in its annual agenda.