Jury Decision Making

How do you come to conclusions and make decisions in your life? Do you typically tend to wait and carefully weigh all of the information before reaching a conclusion? Or, do you more often jump to a conclusion based on how you emotionally respond to the information you first hear?

The nightly news often features stories that inflame people’s passions. Predictably, some people driven by emotion tend to quickly gravitate to polar opposite opinions - even before all of the information can be known. This can lead to people reaching incorrect conclusions about the true state of facts. Sadly, many who reach decisions so quickly are later unwilling to consider any facts that oppose their position.

Our jury system is designed to help jurors reach their verdicts by considering the facts and the law in a deliberate and dispassionate manner. Jurors are specifically instructed that, “In arriving at your verdict you shall not permit bias, prejudice, or sympathy to affect your verdict. You should base your verdict entirely upon the evidence, which has been received in court, and upon the law.”

Jurors are also advised to take their time and avoid reaching conclusions too quickly. Before any witness is called to testify, jurors are instructed to “Keep an open mind until you have heard all of the evidence in the case, the court’s legal instructions, and the arguments of the attorneys.”

Our legal system has these rules because the court system is designed to do the best it can to discover the truth. At every jury trial I remind the jurors of their duties telling them, “As jurors you are not partisans or advocates, but instead are the judges of the facts.” I instruct them that during their deliberations, “There can be no triumph except the ascertainment and declaration of the truth.”

Truth can be elusive. Even eye-witnesses with no interest in the outcome of a case tend to see, hear, remember, and re-tell what happened in different - and sometimes contradictory - ways.

Nonetheless, courts strive to find the truth. Hundreds of years of history with jury trials has shown that the best way to find the truth is to attempt to take away bias, prejudice, and emotion. Truth is best discovered when jurors patiently and conscientiously focus on listening to all of the evidence before reaching any conclusions. Jurors also respectfully deliberate and consider the opinions of the other jurors before reaching a verdict.

Even at a time when so many public policy issues divide our citizens, and even with jurors chosen from a wide variety of life’s circumstances, juries almost always reach unanimous verdicts.

Jurors understand that each case is tremendously important to all parties. The last instruction that I give to jurors is to, “Look at the evidence, give it your best judgment and consideration and conscientiously determine what you think the truth of the matter is and act accordingly.” I have always been impressed with how seriously jurors undertake their duties.

Judge Galler is chambered in Washington County. If you have a general question about the law or courts for Judge Galler, send your question to the editor of this newspaper. Learn more about Judge Galler, or listen to a podcast of his columns at www.judgegreggaller.com.