{"id":897741,"date":"2020-07-23T10:14:28","date_gmt":"2020-07-23T16:14:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=897741"},"modified":"2020-07-23T10:14:32","modified_gmt":"2020-07-23T16:14:32","slug":"virtual-jury-trials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/virtual-jury-trials\/","title":{"rendered":"Virtual Jury Trials: The Next Wave of Remote Legal Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

David R. Zaslow and Mark Paladino | White & Williams<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most obvious and unavoidable results of the COVID-19 crisis has been the postponement of jury service and, by extension, all jury trials. Given the inherent difficulties of convening juries in a world of social distancing, it is likely that multiple jurisdictions will be unable to conduct live jury trials for at least the next several months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recognizing the mounting delay and substantial docket backlog that is attendant to several months without jury trials, one court most recently permitted the litigants, upon consent, to try a new innovation \u2013 the nation\u2019s first virtual jury trial<\/a> conducted entirely on the Zoom platform. More than two dozen potential jurors in Collin County, Texas attended jury selection from home by smartphone, laptop, and tablet, a process that was streamed live on\u00a0YouTube. The presiding judge occasionally provided prospective jurors technical advice on how to best use their devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once selected, the jurors virtually attended a one-day, \u201csummary jury trial\u201d of an insurance dispute in which they heard a condensed version of the case and delivered a non-binding verdict. The parties were then able to gauge how their cases would fare before a jury in a full-scale trial and, with that insight, agreed to proceed to a mediation in an attempt to reach a resolution. Court officials further touted the abbreviated, non-binding experience as an ideal test for the viability of remotely holding jury trials that would result in a final judgment. This real-world test, albeit in a non-binding exercise, may be an indication of things to come, as courts in Indiana and Arizona have already communicated an intention to conduct jury trials remotely once able.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How successful virtual jury trials can be remains an unknown. In a truncated, non-binding fashion such as that employed in Collin County, they may present parties with an opportunity to better assess the value of a case and result in settlement discussions. On a larger scale, though, their efficacy will largely turn on the abilities of trial attorneys to be able to pointedly and powerfully present the evidence in a remote and less personal fashion. Various practical considerations will need to be weighed in determining whether a virtual jury trial is more advantageous than waiting for the eventual return to traditional, in-person trials, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n