6/17/2011

It's Never a Good Sign When the Jurors Are Falling Asleep On You

You're giving a presentation at work.   Or, you're in front of a classroom filled with 100s of people, reading your short story.  You're teaching Sunday School.  Heck, you're teaching anything, anywhere to a group of people.

Imagine the message you're receiving if members of the audience, say 30% of them, have fallen asleep while you're talking.  What are you going to think?

Well, presenting your case in a courtroom isn't that different from these other situations.  Although what is at stake is much, much different. 

Lawyer in trial are always monitoring what the jurors are doing.  Are they taking notes?  Are they looking at my client?  If they are, what's on their faces: scowls, smiles, concerned brows?  If they're not, then where are they looking?  Are they avoiding my client?

Some jury behavior is good.  Smiles are good.  Some jury behavior is bad.  Never looking at your client is seen by many attorneys as a signal that things are going very badly for their side. 

However, having a third of the jury (which is what I've heard is happening during the defense's presentation, 4 jurors are snoozing) sleeping during your presentation of evidence is really a big, and bad, deal. 

Sure, this is technical forensic stuff.  However, the jury wasn't sleeping during the same kind of evidence during the prosecution's presentation.  I don't think this can be blamed on dull evidence coming in .....