Management Note Bringing Technology to the Jury Deliberation Table

Abstract

Over the past decade, technological innovations adopted by courts to enhance the general courtroom trial process and the court administrative environment, have met with relatively little resistance. However, traditional jury deliberation remains the most well guarded institution. Juries are tasked with absorbing sometimes months of testimony, often including a plethora of technical and scientific facts, which they have no means of record ing or assimilating, except what they can recall. Expecting jurors to render a verdict without the aid of even the most basic tools has raised concerns, which have been underscored by the Orenthal James Simpson trial. Could juries potentially benefit from a structured process facilitated by technology? To test this hypothesis, a field study was conducted in Fairfax County (Virginia) Court, October5,1995. The authors conclude that further jury testing using technology should be conducted beginning with civil jury trials. The authors discuss the ethical and legal concerns and offer a proposed structure for deliberating personal injury cases. Ata time when confidence in the American jury system is at an all-time low, new approaches to jury deliberations must be considered.