SACRAMENTO — Trial lawyers, the defense bar and their respective allies don’t usually agree on much. But a collegial bunch of these courtroom adversaries have found common ground in draft rules designed to speed up some civil trials in California.
A working group convened by the Judicial Council is cobbling together the final details of a so-called expedited jury trial system. Based on a successful South Carolina model, the idea is to identify relatively simple lawsuits, iron out evidentiary and witness issues before trial and leave the big issues for a smaller jury to decide over a day or two.
