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Forget the lawyers. Let the jury ask.

By Glen Ashman

An evolving trend is to let jurors participate in trials.   Some stories on this change:

From 2000:

From American Lawyer Media

"What? A jury ask someone on the stand questions? Unbelievable. But in a
case of first impression, two judges of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals approved the practice of letting jurors in criminal cases submit
questions for witnesses."

Details:
http://www.law.com/cgi-bin/nwlink.cgi?ACG=ZZZ25XRITCC

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From 2003:

JURORS MAY QUESTION WITNESSES, COURT SAYS
Associated Press

Trial courts can let jurors question witnesses, the Ohio Supreme Court
said Wednesday in a unanimous ruling. A trial judge may accept written
questions from jurors and pass them on to witnesses, without infringing
on defendants' rights, the high court said. "The practice of allowing
jurors to question witnesses provides for a two-way communication
through which jurors can more effectively fulfill their fundamental
role as fact finders," wrote Chief Justice Thomas Moyer.

http://news.findlaw.com/ap/o/1110/6-11-2003/20030611080006_16.html

Read The Opinion (State v. Fisher)
http://www.ohlawyersweekly.com/archives/oh/opin/sup/2761.htm

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From 2005:

Colo. Court Considers Juror Questions AP - Sat Apr 30, 4:11 PM ET DENVER - The relatively new practice of allowing jurors to submit questions for witnesses during criminal and civil trials, upheld elsewhere in the country in federal courts, is facing a new legal test before Colorado's highest court.

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When Jurors Run the Show
New Jersey Law Journal

Try to imagine defense counsel's dilemma as a plaintiff's expert, answering jurors' questions, takes over the trial. The witness proceeds to expound, lecture and even stride the courtroom floor -- sometimes even straying from his area of expertise. Does the defense keep silent? Or object and thereby risk alienating the jurors? It's a quandary posed by the practice -- as seen in the latest New Jersey Vioxx trial -- of allowing juror questions, and there seem to be few guidelines to resolve it.
http://wwwlaw.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1143725006150

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And from this past week:

Study: Juror Questions, Limits on Lawyer Presentations Enhance Jury Trial Process
The National Law Journal

A 7th Circuit Bar Association study that tested alternative trial concepts, including allowing jurors to ask questions of witnesses during trials and limiting presentations by lawyers, generally showed that the new techniques enhanced the jury trial process. The study took into account survey results from 434 jurors, 86 lawyers and 22 federal trial judges who were involved in 50 civil jury trials.
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202424834469

 

 

Full post as published by It's (Barely) Legal on October 06, 2008 (boomark / email).