Gregory E. Mize

Judge Mize serves as a Judicial Fellow at the National Center for State Courts. In that capacity, he is guiding a National Jury Program designed to help state courts around the country improve their jury trial systems. He is co-author and research manager of the State of the States Survey - the first-ever national study of how jury trials are managed and conducted in federal and state trial courts. In 2001, he delivered a keynote address about the American jury trial system at an international symposium in Suzhou China. In 2010, he was a consultant to the US Embassy in Tblisi, Republic of Georgia, helping the Georgian judiciary establish a jury trial management plan for the launcy of first-ever jury trials in that country. Judge Mize also participated as a North American jury trial expert at the first-ever meeting of former Russian jurors in Moscow in 2008. This Juror Summit, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, has led to ongoing assistance aimed at widely educating Russians about the virtues of trial by jury. He was appointed to the trial bench by President George H.W. Bush. Thereafter, from 1990 to 2002, he presided over hundreds of civil and criminal jury trials in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. In 2002, he assumed senior status on that court. In 1997-1998, Judge Mize co-chaired the D.C. Jury Project, resulting in issuance of "Juries for the Year 2000 and Beyond" containing proposals to improve jury practices in the Superior Court and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. His writings include "Jury Trials Across America: How We Are Teaching and Learning from Each Other," Journal of Court Innovation, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Fall 2008);"Building a Better Voir Dire Process," The Judges' Journal, Vol. 47, No. 1 (Winter 2008); "On Better Jury Selection - Spotting UFO Jurors Before They Enter the Jury Room," Court Review, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Spring 1999); and "Be Cautious of the Quiet Ones," Voir Dire, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Summer 2003). Besides Georgetown Law Center, he was an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia Law School from 2003 to 2007. Before joining the trial bench, Judge Mize was first a trial lawyer and then General Counsel to the District of Columbia City Council.