Jurors May Be Permitted to Pose Questions During Trial
An article recently appeared in the National Law Journal which discussed the fact that twelve geographic Federal circuits have now decided to permit jurors to pose written questions during a trial to witnesses. It appears however, that although the circuits are permitting this procedure there are reservations that are shared by some of them. In some instances, several of the circuits have actually requested judges to actually advise the jurors that this procedure is permitted. The circuits have actually permitted the matter to be decided through the discretion of the judges.
It is often appeared to us that during the course of a trial it becomes clear that the depth of the jury’s interest becomes evident. It also appears that in such cases the granting of this power to a jury might well be of help in arriving at a more meaningful result. It is a subject that is certainly worth following and for ourselves we look forward to the outcome which can only probably be determined after the practice has been followed for a period of time. We believe that once the practice is used for a reasonable period of time the courts and the attorneys practicing in them will be in a better position to judge the efficacy of this procedure. We look forward with keen interest to the outcome.
