The Nuisance of Jurors

 

Now that we’re slowly coming out of the pandemic with its restrictions, trials are resuming. With that, jurors are once again entering your world. Darn.

Trials would be so much easier if you didn’t have to deal with jurors. Jurors wander off mentally during your most critical testimony. They are distracted by the need to scratch an itch, or by a lawyer’s mannerisms. Jurors are irritated by an expert’s vocal tone, they disapprove of a witness’s attitude. Jurors misunderstand the law and all too often make it up as they go along. Jurors impose their own version of what’s right or wrong, ignoring to a distressing degree the jury instructions, regardless of the judge’s admonitions. Jurors deliberate as a group, which introduces the whole notion of group dynamics, complicating the matter further. And that’s but the tip of the juror iceberg . . .

But jurors must be dealt with, and more importantly, you must deal with how they come to the decisions they make. For the better you can determine or discern what impacts those decisions, the more likely you are to succeed at trial.

This is where intense, targeted use of the pre-trial focus group can be especially valuable. Instead of letting focus group “jurors” elect a foreperson and talk over each other to arrive at a consensual decision, have a facilitator ask probing questions of each and every juror, to analyze how each juror arrives at their various conclusions, as well as observe how group dynamics affect those conclusions.

Knowledge is power.

Use Analogies to Persuade Jurors

You are often challenged to convey complex situations or ideas, unfamiliar to your jurors, in a way that they will understand. A juror who does not understand your point cannot be persuaded to your interpretation of the facts. Understanding is the foundation of juror persuasion.

Analogies facilitate understanding by creating links between the unfamiliar and unknown of your case to the known and familiar aspects of your jurors’ life experience. Analogies compare ideas or situations which are identical in some ways but not in others.

For example, let’s say that part of your case is that cooperation of the nursing staff, hospital equipment supply chain, physicians, etc. is essential to the success of a surgical procedure. You can compare such cooperation to the cooperation required for the success of a baseball team.

Without the cooperation of every member/part of the surgical team, the procedure will fail, just as without the cooperation of every member/part of the baseball team, the team will lose.

Most jurors are familiar with how sports work, but not with how surgical procedures are conducted. The comparison between the familiar and the unfamiliar allows the unfamiliar to be understood in terms of what is identical to the two situations. In this example, it’s cooperation.

It is worth your time and effort to come up with analogies that truly facilitate comprehension of your particular situation. A good analogy can make all the difference when it comes to that critical component – juror understanding of your case, and with it, your ability to persuade them.