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Judges test plans for smoother jury trials
Procedures designed to make civil jury trials move more smoothly are being given a test drive by judges serving within the federal circuit based in Chicago. This week marked the official start of a six-month trial run of practices proposed by the 7th Circuit Bar Association American Jury Project Commission. U.S. District Court judges and magistrate judges participating in the project will try out one or more procedural concepts -- including permitting jurors to ask questions, setting time limits on trials and allowing lawyers to make periodic "mini-summations" during the proceedings -- that are aimed at making jury trials a better experience for jurors and litigants alike. Chicago attorney James R. Figliulo noted that all the proposed procedures are permitted under current rules. But he said the jury project will test how well the procedures work when put into practice. And Figliulo said members of the bench and bar who work in the federal courts in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana are ideally suited for that task. "I thought the 7th Circuit has so many really top-notch judges and trial lawyers that it's a natural forum to test and implement some of these concepts," he said. … During the first phase of the project, seven concepts were developed by separate groups that were each headed by one to three attorney chairpersons. … The package of concepts then was reviewed by members of the Jury Project Commission who included Professor Stephan A. Landsman of DePaul University College of Law and Professor Shari Seidman Diamond of Northwestern University School of Law.
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