Courts around the country are experimenting with innovations in jury trials. Smart trial lawyers will take advantage of these developments to benefit their clients.
Texas courts have been implementing some of these changes. In 2009, U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas of the Southern District of Texas formed a committee to devise a pilot program for courts, if they chose, to test jury innovations in civil trials. Courts have some discretion regarding whether to use these innovations, and lawyers can request implementation in their clients’ trials. To learn more, lawyers can read the Jury Innovations Project’s “Pilot Program Manual,” which is available online.
