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 internationally acclaimed show
“Undercover Boss” revealed 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.
