Three Tenets To “Teach The Jurors Well”

The American historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., once commented that successful political action requires education, coalition-building, and collective action. He further observed that of the three, education is the most important, because without it, coalition-building and collective action are impossible.

Why would I offer political advice to trial lawyers? I do so for two very important reasons:

• First, at its core, the jury system is a highly political process that requires its decision-makers (i.e., the jurors) to form a coalition capable of reaching a unanimous agreement. After closing arguments (while you pace the courthouse hallways, drink crummy coffee from the basement cafeteria, and anxiously wait for a verdict), twelve ordinary citizens (often with widely diverse backgrounds and viewpoints) are struggling among themselves, working hard as we ask them to do, to unanimously agree on a verdict. Unanimity does not happen without a whole lot of “politicking” in the jury