Based on this recommendation, the Council discontinued the survey for twelve years. In 1990, the Council began a major public education program. The program encouraged more public participation in the evaluation process, and gave the public more information about the evaluation results and recommendations. An experimental juror survey with the Anchorage trial court judges led the Council to conclude that juror surveys serve three purposes, distinct from any question of statistical merit. First, they greatly improve public participation in the process.
Jurors responding to the survey become aware of the evaluation process by contributing to it.
Their evaluations of judges increase public confidence in the process because the public perceives juries to be trustworthy groups. Second, judges benefit from the comments made by the jurors on temperament, clarity of instructions, courtroom control, fairness and the other characteristics included in the jurors' surveys. The Council expanded the survey to include all trial court judges standing for retention in 1992. The 1998 juror survey included approximately 3,000 jurors, who sat on trials before 12 judges in 1996 and 1997. Each juror received only one form, with no followup mailings.