In-person trial gone remote: the jury responds

Last week, my remote trial -- originally intended to be an in-person event, scuttled due to several positive COVID tests -- continued in San Bernardino. While there have been a few technical "hiccups" where jurors lost connection to the trial, the overall experience remains amazing. The time savings, convenience for the witnesses, and comfort of conducting trial from my own firm's studio are exceptional.

I was thrilled when Judge Gilbert Ochoa shared our jurors' survey responses to questions requesting feedback on the remote trial to date. I was anxious as I opened this email from the court, not knowing whether the jurors were having a terrible experience or were as satisfied as we were. With the court's permission, I am sharing some of their direct comments so you can read what the jury's attitude is, at least so far.

Juror No. 2 writes: "I personally do not mind the remote jury duty. I prefer it."

Juror No. 3 says: "I do like it at home ... the disruptions are bothersome but when it runs smoothly [it does most of the time] I much prefer doing it on zoom. I guess my decision is stay at home."

Juror No. 8 writes: "I definitely like that I can serve remotely. What I don't like is all the technical difficulties. I am sure some day it will all work the way it should with no interruptions. Also, as long as all the judges are as understanding as Judge Ochoa jurors should have a great experience."

Juror No. 5 sums up the other juror's comments when he writes: "I personally think virtual meeting for jury service is amazing and preferred and I will tell you why. Having to not rush to court is big deal for me and in this heat [we are in San Bernardino] walking to the courthouse and getting scanned through the metal detector is time consuming and makes you want to get there 30 minutes early every day. Waiting outside the hallway is OK, but honestly the seats are not comfortable and not enough room which because of COVID, forces people to stand most of the time just for space. Inside the court it can be difficult because of masks for listening to the people, what they say, people coughing next to you or sniffling, and having to take notes on your lap is not ideal for notetaking, at least for me anyways. With it being virtual, I don't have to rush to find parking, I have my room and being by myself is perfect with no distractions, during our lunch time I can make a meal at home rather than going to wait in long lines at the cafeteria or out at a restaurant. I am in my own comfort [sic] and have a desk to take notes efficiently and responsibly, so for any network or technical issues I am OK because it is only temporary issues that can get easily fixed. These weeks have been great and makes me want to be a juror every year if I could."

One of the jurors did suggest that when it comes time for jury deliberations, she might want to meet in person but, we were still a month away from that decision.

After reading the jurors' comments I called up Joe Satterly, the plaintiff attorney who completed the first all remote trial against Johnson & Johnson last month in Alameda to hear what he had learned from the jurors in his trial. By and large, his jurors were equally as happy to have served trial remotely, but they didn't feel bonded to each other in any way. His jurors had actually expressed an interest in having both closing arguments and deliberations together. One suggestion that the jurors made, which I actually anticipated and set up in our San Bernardino trial, was to have a breakout room where they could meet before and during the trial to simply get to know each other on a personal basis. Perhaps it might even make some sense to allow the jurors to have lunch together, if they want, to create a more personal connection. Given one of our juror's suggestions that we might want to have them deliberate in person, this comports with the general feelings of the Alameda jury, and should be implemented if safety precautions can be taken.

It continues to be a worthwhile and remarkably engaging experience to be trying this case from my firm and not 100 miles away in the San Bernardino Court. We expect to rest plaintiff's case in the next few weeks.