Juror note-taking the norm in most space courtrooms, however it’s as much as the decide
Jan. 21—In most space courtrooms, a notepad and pen are awaiting jurors when seated to assist with their recollection of proof offered at trial. However note-taking shouldn’t be a assure and in Ohio — it is as much as the decide.
In reality, jury trial practices differ from decide to guage, some a bit of and others lots, which is noticeable if one spends a lot time in court docket hearings and jury trials.
In a single Warren County Widespread Pleas courtroom, jurors should not solely offered notebooks, however permitted to ask questions of witnesses — a rarity within the state.
Jury note-taking is the norm regionally, and has been the case within the recollections of attorneys who’ve practiced for 20 years or extra.
Not too long ago, Butler County Visiting Widespread Pleas Choose Daniel Hogan didn’t allow note-taking after a jury was seated for former auditor Roger Reynolds’ trial. Hogan started the usual preliminary process pointers for the jury and didn’t deal with note-taking.
Hogan instructed a juror who requested if they might take notes that he was on the aspect of no note-taking and appeared to the prosecution and protection to argue in any other case. They didn’t.
Hogan declined remark about his note-taking follow till after the February sentencing of Reynolds.
Choose Jennifer McElfresh, Butler County widespread pleas decide for 9 years and a longtime county assistant prosecutor, mentioned she doesn’t recall any trial the place note-taking was not permitted for a jury.
“I’ve not practiced in any courts the place they haven’t been in a position to take notes and I do allow them to take notes. However it’s actually as much as the discretion of the trial court docket, the supreme court docket has dominated in a number of circumstances,” she mentioned.
McElfresh and different judges sometimes deal with the follow straight from the legislation based mostly on Ohio jury instruction pointers.
“It does say that for a while note-taking by jurors weren’t permitted. There was some concern initially that it will distract the jurors consideration from what was really happening within the courtroom,” McElfresh mentioned.
There’s additionally one other idea that some imagine it’s not useful as a result of a juror’s notes could be perceived to be extra essential than a juror’s reminiscence, she mentioned.
Others are of the assumption that notes assist with recall, particularly in an advanced case. She is considered one of them.
“It’s important that you just remind (jurors) it’s for the recall of that individual juror and must be used as a reminiscence support not handled as a verbatim document of the testimony,” McElfresh mentioned.
Juror notebooks are beneath the watch of the court docket throughout trial. They don’t seem to be one thing a juror can put of their purse or pocket to evaluate at residence or on lunch break. They’ve an figuring out marker particular to every juror and so they collected and redistributed earlier than and after court docket.
Notebooks are permitted within the room throughout deliberations, then collected and shredded when the trial in over, which is a part of customary jury instruction.
“I’m a note-taker myself,” McElfresh mentioned. “For me it relies on the way you be taught. Some persons are higher at simply listening and seeing. I wish to accommodate each sorts of studying so the jurors could make one of the best resolution.”
Butler County Widespread Pleas Judges Keith Spaeth, Greg Howard and Dan Haughey all allow note-taking throughout jury trials. All say they too are be aware takers and really feel the jurors as triers of the details ought to have the identical alternative.
Spaeth mentioned judicial practices are sometimes what the customized is within the county the place the decide was elected and started their legislation profession.
“However we do warn folks, you will get so caught up in taking meticulous notes that you’re not observing their physique language, their demeanor and making an attempt to get an actual good deal with on are there any (indicators) that this individual is not telling the reality,” Spaeth mentioned.
Notice-taking can be not required, and judges say some choose to not jot down something within the spiral notebooks.
“Some take only a few or none in any respect. Then others are asking the bailiff for a second pocket book,” Spaeth mentioned.
Warren County Widespread Pleas Choose Donald Oda II modified his coverage about jury note-taking up to now few years after serving on a three-judge panel in a capital homicide case.
“Choose Peeler, Choose Kirby and I listened to the testimony, deliberated and reached a verdict. All three of us have been taking notes, as most judges do, all the time and I discovered these notes have been useful to us after we have been deliberating. It made our discussions in regards to the case far more productive,” Oda mentioned.
“Permitting jurors to take notes improves the deliberation course of and with higher deliberation, hopefully, you’ll get higher verdicts,” Oda mentioned.
Jurors could generally ask questions
Warren County Widespread Pleas Choose Time Tepe is among the few within the area who additionally permits jurors ask questions of witnesses throughout the parameters of the legislation. Oda mentioned that isn’t a follow he plans to undertake.
“Though I’ve seen from Choose Tepe that it does produce good questions from the jurors, I’m extra involved in regards to the impression than not asking a query {that a} juror submits — asking about prior convictions or rumour testimony, for instance. If I’m asking a few of the jurors’ questions, however not all of them- — I fear that this may occasionally play a task in how the jurors consider the case. I additionally don’t ask questions in a jury trial. I let the attorneys deal with all of the questioning,” Oda mentioned.
In Tepe’s courtroom, after a witness testifies, the bailiff passes out playing cards to jurors who can then write a query for that witness. Questions should not required and the playing cards are signed. After the questions are collected, either side check with the decide. Then Tepe reads the jury questions that he dominated have been acceptable.
For now, Tepe is the one space decide letting the jury have a extra vested function within the course of with questioning. A 2020 survey by the Ohio Jury Administration Affiliation indicated solely 26 out of 95 judges responding permitted jurors to ask questions of witnesses.
Tepe, who was elected and took the bench in 2017 after working towards legislation for 31 years, started contemplating the follow a number of years into his judgeship. After listening to the concept from a decide in northern Ohio, Tepe adopted the coverage within the fall of 2019.
He plans to proceed the follow and his philosophy is give the jury the instruments wanted to decide.
Tepe mentioned as a working towards legal professional he did encounter judges who didn’t allow note-taking.
“I simply do not wish to restrict jurors,” Tepe mentioned. “My philosophy is we have to make it simpler on the jury any method we are able to. Let’s give them the knowledge they should make a simply resolution.”
He added allowing jurors to ask questions is a part of that philosophy.
“I do know that generally attorneys do not prefer it, “Tepe mentioned. “And persons are confused by it as a result of attorneys at all times get a change earlier than the query is learn to object. Identical to any query that’s requested of a witness, the decide is the one who decides what questions are acceptable.”
It’s a matter of attending to the reality, Tepe mentioned.
“The attorneys could also be making an attempt to go round sure questions. I’ve discovered that jurors ask actually good questions,” Tepe mentioned. “My aim is to get a good trial to either side. You need a jury to make a simply resolution, and my aim is to assist them come to that conclusion. They’re the triers of the details, so why not give them as a lot data and the instruments they want to try this?”
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Lauren Pack has been a courts and crime reporter for practically 30 years in Butler County and the area, overlaying a whole lot of prison circumstances and a trials in Butler, Warren and Preble counties. Join extra from her by our Crime & Security Report weekly e-mail publication. journal-news.com