Roving jurors provided oversight in the courtroom.

I am a young lawyer who is starting to try a number of cases in Philadelphia and I hear stories of roving jurors. What were they?

Roving jurors were a Philadelphia tradition in the 1970s, 1980s and late 1990s. By early 2000 they had, unfortunately, disappeared. They primarily were involved when the criminal court system was still located in City Hall and not the current Criminal Justice Center.

Older lawyers will remember very fondly the roving jurors. Many of them were retired people, some very distinguished, who chose to spend their days watching court proceedings. Of course, many of them came over a number of years and there was a great camaraderie developed between the roving jurors and the trial lawyers, particularly the criminal defense bar. In cases of some renown, there would often be 10 to 15 roving jurors watching the case. It was a wonderful experience because it involved the citizen participation in the court system and affirmed the trial lawyers with real time criticism or praise.