I can think of a few things that I might change about how trials are conducted in the United States.
Suggestion 1:
Don’t have the jury in the courtroom as the trial is taking place. Instead, make video recordings of all testimony and show them to the jury after each witness’s testimony is concluded. And if a lawyer or witness makes a statement that the jury is not supposed to hear, it can be removed from the tape instead of the jury hearing it then being asked to ignore it. Also, allow the jury to review the tapes during deliberations, so they don’t have to rely on memory alone.
Suggestion 2:
Allow jurors to question witnesses, but only indirectly. After the attorneys are finished questioning a witness, ask the jurors to submit in writing any questions they would like to have the witness answer, have the attorneys from both sides read the questions, and then give both attorneys the opportunity to question the witness further. If a question is relevant and legal to ask, it will likely be in the interest of one of the sides to ask it, and using the attorneys as intermediaries seems like it would make juror-directed questioning less likely to lead to problems with inappropriate questions. (I don’t know if this would actually work or not, though.)
Suggestion 1 seems pretty cool, but it has practical downsides. You also can’t watch the jury as an attorney; sometimes those reactions are helpful in fact-giving.
The jury can get readback or playback in criminal trials with redactions for disallowed questions and testimony. So that’s already in place—jurors frequently ask for readback.
Suggestion 2 is allowed in California, a relatively new development, and it’s done exactly like this. Trial judges can allow or disallow such questioning. In short trials (1-3 days), I’m not sure if there’s a substantial benefit, but I tend to like them. In long trials, I think they are great and work great.
I can think of a few things that I might change about how trials are conducted in the United States.
Suggestion 1: Don’t have the jury in the courtroom as the trial is taking place. Instead, make video recordings of all testimony and show them to the jury after each witness’s testimony is concluded. And if a lawyer or witness makes a statement that the jury is not supposed to hear, it can be removed from the tape instead of the jury hearing it then being asked to ignore it. Also, allow the jury to review the tapes during deliberations, so they don’t have to rely on memory alone.
Suggestion 2:
Allow jurors to question witnesses, but only indirectly. After the attorneys are finished questioning a witness, ask the jurors to submit in writing any questions they would like to have the witness answer, have the attorneys from both sides read the questions, and then give both attorneys the opportunity to question the witness further. If a question is relevant and legal to ask, it will likely be in the interest of one of the sides to ask it, and using the attorneys as intermediaries seems like it would make juror-directed questioning less likely to lead to problems with inappropriate questions. (I don’t know if this would actually work or not, though.)
Here’s a bit of information on juror-submitted questions.
Suggestion 1 seems pretty cool, but it has practical downsides. You also can’t watch the jury as an attorney; sometimes those reactions are helpful in fact-giving.
The jury can get readback or playback in criminal trials with redactions for disallowed questions and testimony. So that’s already in place—jurors frequently ask for readback.
Suggestion 2 is allowed in California, a relatively new development, and it’s done exactly like this. Trial judges can allow or disallow such questioning. In short trials (1-3 days), I’m not sure if there’s a substantial benefit, but I tend to like them. In long trials, I think they are great and work great.