People called for jury duty could soon have a more active role in trials. The Illinois Supreme Court on Tuesday said jurors can ask questions of witnesses in civil cases. Brian Mackey has more:
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Let’s say you’re on a jury for a case involving a traffic accident. You hear the lawyers carefully present their evidence: How fast were the cars were going? Was the light red, yellow or green? But maybe they leave out a crucial detail — say, did one of the drivers have the sun in his eyes?
Bruce Pfaff says, until the new rule adopted by the Illinois Supreme Court, most jurors would have no way of getting that question answered. Pfaff is a plaintiffs’ attorney based in Chicago. He says those unanswered questions can be frustrating for jurors, and the new process will keep them more engaged.
“They’re not mushrooms — as a friend of mine would say — to be kept in the dark and to be fed manure,” Pfaff says. “They’re there to decide the case. And they should be an active part of the process.”
There are limits: judges have to decide to allow questions on a witness-by-witness basis. Questions will have to be submitted in writing, and the judge will confer with the attorneys before deciding which questions to allow.
A few Illinois judges already allowed jurors to question witnesses, but until the new rule, it was never clear the practice was legal.
— Brian Mackey
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