How many times in your youth, were you told by a benevolent,
or at the very least, good-hearted, coach or teacher, "There’s no such thing as
a stupid question." You’ve probably said that very phrase to your children as
well.
And yet, when jurors ask during deliberations to have
something explained to them, or ask a question that clearly reveals their lack
of understanding, lawyers will frequently roll their eyes and mutter about "the
decline in average intelligence" or mumble about the impossibility of getting
“bright jurors” on the panel.
Similarly, in focus groups, when it’s obvious the mock
jurors have completely missed a lawyer’s point, the lawyer will often blame the
jurors for their stupidity . . . which drives me absolutely berserk.
Jurors are people who are good at what they do! Whether
that’s repairing cars, or managing a convenience store, or cleaning houses. And
just like the show "Undercover Boss" reveals the inability of most bosses to
accomplish the mundane tasks of their employees, I defy any attorney to walk in
the shoes of any juror and accomplish their tasks in life, from bus driver to
pediatric nurse, with the same level of expertise as said juror.
There are no stupid questions. There are simply different
arenas and levels of experience in the world. Run your cases by focus groups
whenever you can to ferret out what are the issues critical to your case that
jurors are likely to misunderstand, or fail to comprehend.
Then do all that you can, with the aid of visuals whenever
possible, to clarify matters for those who will be your "real" jurors.
There are no stupid questions. But there are some mightily
confusing, obfuscating answers.
