The crucial role of courtroom clerks in gaining juror trust

Jurors are strategically selected during voir dire, opening statements are meticulously crafted, and trial attorneys strive to make their clients as likable as possible. But don't forget to show some appreciation to your nearby courtroom clerk, too.

According to Judge Eric C. Taylor, who currently serves on the Los Angeles Superior Court, this can be the key factor in either gaining or losing the trust of jurors.

"It's hard to be liked, it really is," Taylor said. "You're telling your (opening statement) story and you thank all of the jurors for their time. But do you know who is loved the most in the courtroom? The clerk."

"The clerk spends more time with the jurors than anyone," Taylor said. "The clerks are greeting them in the hallway, they are asking them how they are doing. So be nice and smile at the clerk."

Taylor's reminder to respect everyone in the courtroom isn't surprising. In a 2017 Daily Journal judicial profile, Taylor reminisced about his father's experiences as a Freedom Rider in the deep South.

His father, John Taylor, spent two weeks in jail for entering a "white only" waiting room in Jackson, Mississippi as part of the Freedom Rider demonstrations in 1961. He was bailed out by Thurgood Marshall, who would go on to become the first African American U.S. Supreme Court justice.

"Jurors look to the judge as someone they respect and who is keeping the system going, but reaching out to the clerk -- that is the magic that will seep into the juror's minds," said Taylor, following the presentation of a handful of trial lawyers at this week's CAALA in Vegas.

Judge Eric C. Taylor currently serves in the Los Angeles Superior Court, after completing a two-year term in December 2022 as the 71st Presiding Judge. In 2003, Judge Taylor was elected President of the California Judges Association, and again in 2015, becoming the first judge to be twice elected to this position.