I was recently summoned for jury duty in the great state of Texas (not coincidentally, where I live) and it reminded me of a question I had when I previously served on juries:
Why can’t I take notes during the trial?
Also, I don’t know if this is unique to Texas, as I’ve seen them taking notes on lawyer-type TV shows based in California.
Someone once told me (I’ve served on two juries in Texas) that it’s to keep away the distraction of someone saying something in the court, and one juror suddenly reacting by writing in his notepad. The lawyers would start to play their case based on the scribbling reactions of jurors.
Not that great of a reason, but it’s all I got.
Maybe also because your notes aren’t really the evidence, they are your reaction to the evidence. If you rely, during deliberations, on the transcripts and evidence as it’s presented, you might be more fair than if you rely on your own notes.
Also, notes can be inaccurate- you mishear or misunderstand something, and write it down that way, and it isn’t right to base your decision on inaccurate notes.
Is that a fact FQ?
That one’s mental recollection is less likely to be erroneous than written notes?
Do juries get the full transcript of the trial to look at, which would make notes superfluous? I imagine if that is the case, another reason might be that it forces the jury to concentrate on what is recorded by the court as admissible evidence, rather than on things which are judged inadmissible or the jury is directed to disregard.
In Illinois jurors can take notes. In Illinois the jury does not get a transcript of any kind. Their notes are destroyed after the trial, and not part of the record. Finally, I also question the idea that mentall recollection is likely to be more accurate than notes. I could see where the trial judge might not allow note taking in a short (say one day or less) trial where the facts are simple and easy to follow. I would hate to be on a jury doing a three week product liability case and not be able to take notes. I will ask around at work today and see if anyone has an explination.
Turek: There is a simple, straightforward answer to your question, and I will happily provide it, along with the appropriate Texas legal authorities. But first, I need to know whether the jury duty you mention has been completed.
I have served on two previous juries.
I was impaneled (I think that’s the term) yesterday, but told to come back tomorrow. They haven’t started the voir dire yet. In fact, we haven’t even been in the courtroom or seen the attorneys, litigants, judge, etc., or been told what kind of case it is.
I assumed that jurors had access to the trial transcript.
If that assumption was incorrect, than my answer makes less sense.
Please feel free to ignore it.
Then I’m sorry, but I cannot answer your question at this time, nor should any other person in this thread attempt to do so. I also urge you to report your inquiry to the judge. As a member or potential member of a jury, you should be receiving your instructions and information from the court, not random people on a message board.
Sorry if that comes off as harsh, but anything that could be construed as an improper influence on the jury panel should always be avoided.
No problem, Minty Green. I’ll bump this back up when I’m done, which will hopefully be tomorrow afternoon, and you’ll be able to answer my question.
But I am curious as to why I should report this to anyone. Like I said, I’ve served on two juries. Each time, it was mentioned that we couldn’t take notes. “Hmmm,” I thought to myself a the time, “I wonder why that is.”
At the end of each of those trials, I was free to investigate for myself WHY I couldn’t take notes. However, lacking the motivation or the means for doing so, I didn’t.
Now that I’ve been reminded of my question, I investigated it.
How does the fact that I’ve been impaneled make any difference in the situation? The reasons for not taking notes has absolutely no effect on my deliberations (assuming I’m selected for a jury). And I was free to avail myself of the knowledge BEFORE I was impaneled.
Are you saying that if I’d researched my question, say, 3 months ago, that somehow I would be obligated to divulge my investigations to the judge? That somehow learning about how our legal sytem works makes me unable to render an unbiased verdict?
BTW, I’m not questioning your not desiring to answer my question at this time. That’s your decision to make, and you’ve made it, and I can abide by that.
Colour me confused. He should report to the judge a simple factual inquiry as to why note-taking is not permitted in a trial?
I understand your point about not taking advice from “random people on the message board.”
But your earlier answer said that there was, and is, a straightforward answer to the question. Presumably this answer is codified in some way, and is part of the public record. What’s wrong with quoting the appropriate part, or pointing the OP in the right direction? If the OP knew where to look, it would surely be pretty easy to find the relevant law. Presumably rules and laws governing court procedure are there for a reason, and being ignorant of the reasons behind the rules does not strike me as particularly beneficial.
And i’m not sure about the OP, but any advice i might receive from random people about serving on a jury would go straight out the window once i actually sat down and was being instructed by the judge.
Yes. And if you email me, I will be happy to explain. Further discussion here would be inappropriate on my part.
And, to expand on Turek’s most recent post:
Why will you be able to explain the issue after the trial?
I mean, Turek will presumably remain part of the potential jury pool in Texas, and may well serve on a jury again. He’s already been on two.
Is there some sort of time limit to explanations like this, whereby someone can ask the question. say, six months before a trial, but not the day before? Because if there isn’t, then presumably you should never answer this question when asked by any potential member of a Texas jury.
I’m not trying to put you on the spot, Minty Green. And I REALLY have no desire for you to feel you have to stretch or justify your (obviously) professional ethics.
Why don’t we just table this until after I serve or don’t serve, and then hopefully all will be made clear?
How does that sound, Minty?
Fair enough. Thanks for understanding.
Why doesn’t Turek just resist the urge to check up on this thread until after the trial? And that way Minty can just bust out with the (sure to be disappointing) answer. Should Turek really be checking bulletin boards about juries if it is as serious as Minty would have us believe?
'Cause Turek is having enough trouble resisting the urge to go Google it himself, and if he knew an answer were just laying here, waiting to be read…
Sadly, Turek’s self-control isn’t all that it could be.
minty green, while we’re waiting for Turek, I was wondering if it would be possible to explain what ethical and/or legal indiscretions have possibly been violated in regards to this type of question (of course, not this specific question, but in general terms). I understand not discussing questions specific to a case, but I don’t understand the problem with a simple procedural question.
Please note that I’m not disagreeing with you, I’m just curious.
If you’re unable to respond at this time, would it be possible to elaborate after you get the “all clear” from Turek?
Either way, thanks in advance-DESK
Well, based on some quick searching online, here’s what I’ve found:
In Texas, a jury’s ability to take notes is determined by the judge based on the complexity of the evidence and the length of the trial.
Cites:
http://www.hcdistrictclerk.com/Jury_Info/Jury_Info.asp
http://webbcounty.com/Administrationofjustice/District_Clerk/JuryDuty/Jury_Duty_Questions/jury_duty_questions.html
http://www.bellcountytx.com/districtclerk/dcjrorderevents.htm
It seems like most states follow this same rule.
http://www.osca.state.mo.us/sup/index.nsf/0/29652f363b1774ff86256b3500592b04?OpenDocument
http://www.courts.state.ny.us/cji/1-General/CJI2d.Jury-Note-taking.pdf
They key points when taking notes are such:
You must not permit the note taking to distract you from the proceedings.
Any notes taken are only an aid to your memory, but must not take precedence over your independant recollection.
You may not be inluenced by notes that other jurors take.
Notes are not a substitute for the recorded transcript or the evidence.
It seems like notes can be both a distraction in the court room and in the juror room and they are probably only allowed in complex trials.
I can’t imagine what information Minty has that cannot be relayed to you while you are in the midst of jury selection, but I will certainly check back in this thread to find out.