Understanding sociomaterial struggles of jury service

Jury service has a complicated reputation in U.S. society because while considered an important democratic tool, it is often thought of as an undesirable chore. To better understand this phenomenon, this study investigated how sociomateriality shaped the constitutional identity of jurors. Through semi-structured interviews with 30 potential jurors from the state of Missouri, we foregrounded sociomaterial struggles that evidence serious incompatibilities between the discursive and material realms of jury service. Participants discussed jury service using aspirational discourses that frame this civic duty as a responsibility, an honor, and a democratic cornerstone. They also surfaced temporal, economic, and tedious difficulties associated with serving. These sociomaterial struggles revealed how jury service is a short-term experience imbued with power asymmetries that must be addressed in efforts to restore its centrality to a constitutional identity relevant in democratic societies. We offer theoretical and practical implications for legal communication scholars and practitioners in the United States.