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12 Trial Excellence 1 (2000)

handle is hein.journals/jurexp12 and id is 1 raw text is: Trial Excellence Volume 12, Number 1 January, 2000 What Consultants are Saying The following is a digest of some recent comments by top jury experts on a number of topics. Heading into the new Millennium (which really begins January 1, 2001) we need to be aware that things are changing more rapidly than at any time in history. The trick is in understanding what doesn't change, and finding modem applications for traditional wisdom. Complex Cases The task of making complex litigation understandable to the jury is a daunt- ing one. By the time a trial begins, the lawyer is so well versed in the facts and data that he or she may not fully realize how difficult the task will be. But there are ways. According to Ellen L. Leggett, of The Jury Research Institute (contact: jrice@jri-inc.com), the key to success in a complex trial is knowing how to educate the jury. From the jurors' perspective, their job is to learn highly complex, novel information and solve a difficult problem in an environment that seemingly works against these goals. While leaving jurors' biases at home and waiting until the end of the trial to find the facts may be the legal system's goals for jurors, the reality is that more pressing concerns are immediately evi- dent. From the moment juror's walk into the courtroom, they are in foreign territory. If they have never served on a jury, their first concern will be to deter- ssue Highlights: mine what they are expected to do. Most American citizens have very little informa- -tion about how trials are conducted and 4what a juror actually does. The Second concern on the mind of jurors • 8 is a desire to do their job well. In post-trial interviews conducted by psychologists, jurors regularly express a strong desire to Digitized from Best Copy Available

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