Judge Gregory E. Mize
Judge Mize is currently 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
recently published 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 2008, he participated as a North American jury trial expert at the first-ever meeting of
former Russian jurors in Moscow. 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 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); THE STATEOF-THE-STATES SURVEY OF JURY IMPROVEMENT EFFORTS: A COMPENDIUM REPORT
(National Center for State Courts 2007); “Be Cautious of the Quiet Ones,” Voir Dire, Vol.
10, No. 2 (Summer 2003); and “On Better Jury Selection – Spotting UFO Jurors Before
They Enter the Jury Room,” Court Review, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Spring 1999).
He is an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia Law School and at the Georgetown
University Law Center.
Before joining the trial bench, Judge Mize was first a trial lawyer and then General Counsel
to the District of Columbia City Council.