RESPONSES
What
is juror notetaking?
Juror notetaking is a jury trial innovation that allows jurors, while
participating in a trial, to take notes for the sake of improving their
comprehension and memory. Studies
of this widespread technique indicate that the jury is better informed
about the evidence and the proper application of law during its
deliberations.
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What
procedures are being used in courts that allow jurors to take notes?
In most
jurisdictions, the trial judge has discretion to permit jurors to take
notes. Additionally, in some
jurisdictions, notetaking is allowed upon consent from the involved
parties.
When notetaking is permitted, many courts furnish notepads and writing
utensils to the jurors for their person use.
This is done to prevent imposing the cost on to the jurors
themselves, and to provide a convenient notetaking method.
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What
are some possible instructions given by a judge regarding notetaking?
While instructions will vary from state to state and courtroom to
courtroom, some possible instructions include:
- Information
on court policy about whether jurors may retain their notes when court
is in recess and whether jurors may discuss their notes during trial;
- Juror
notetaking is permitted, but not required;
- Notetaking
should not distract the jury’s attention from the trial proceedings;
- Jurors’
notes are confidential;
- Notes are
for the private use of jurors and will not become an official document
or part of the trial record;
- Jurors
should use their notes to refresh their memory of evidence presented at
trial but notes should not be relied upon as definitive fact;
- Notes
have no greater weight than memory;
- In
deliberations, note-aided and non-aided memory are of equal
significance; and
- Jurors
should not be influenced by another juror’s notes.
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What
are the advantages of juror notetaking?
Some advantages of
juror notetaking include:
- Empirical
research demonstrates that notetaking aids memory for both factual and
conceptual items;
- Notetaking
encourages more active participation in jury deliberations, leading to a
more thorough discussion by the jurors of the issues confronting them;
- Juror
notes help the jury reconstruct the presented evidence more efficiently
during deliberations, which decreases deliberation time;
- The
process of notetaking keeps jurors alert and interested in the trial,
increasing juror satisfaction with jury service;
- Notetaking
increases jurors’ confidence that their deliberations correctly apply
the jury instructions.
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What
are the disadvantages of juror notetaking?
The two main
concerns with juror notetaking include:
- Jurors
may become distracted from testimony in their efforts to take complete
notes;
- Jurors
who take notes may participate more effectively in jury deliberations
than those who do not.
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