By Alan Cooper
Published: May 17, 2010
After the conclusion of a trial, lawyers often want to ask jurors a simple question: How did I do?
The lawyer who lost the case may particularly want to know how the juror reached its conclusion and why, so she can learn something that will help her when she tries her next case.
Indeed, some defense and plaintiff’s attorneys make it a practice to get juror feedback, even if it’s no more than a parking lot comment immediately after the verdict.
Sean P. Byrne, a medical malpractice defense attorney in Richmond, said, “It’s a good panel if you hear from four or five of them.”
The lack of structure or detail in such quick interviews doesn’t lessen their importance, he said. “I think it’s invaluable.”
Like Byrne, plaintiff’s attorney R. Lee Livingston from Charlottesville said he is more likely to try to talk to jurors immediately after the trial – and more often after a loss than a win.
The comments can help educate the client as well as the attorney and provide information on the possibility of an appeal, he said.
Livingston and Byrne emphasized that attorneys need to be aware of any restrictions a judge might place on such interviews. Livingston noted as an example that Western District rules generally bar any contact by attorneys with jurors during their term of service, and that term is a year.
