Rule 24.1 Juror Information
VI. Trial
Rule Text
(a) Notetaking.
(1) Notetaking Allowed. The court shall instruct jurors that they may take notes during the trial and deliberations.
(2) Materials. The court shall provide suitable materials for this purpose.
(3) Access to Notes. Jurors shall have access to their notes during recesses and deliberations.
(4) Destruction of Notes. After the jury has rendered a verdict, the notes shall be collected by court personnel who shall destroy them promptly.
(b) Notebooks.
(1) Allowed in Court’s Discretion. When the court deems it helpful in a particular case, jurors may be provided with notebooks to use in collecting and organizing appropriate materials, including items such as jury instructions, copies of written and other exhibits, and the juror's own notes.
(2) Participation by Counsel. Counsel should be apprised of this procedure and invited to prepare exhibits and other materials in a way that facilitates their inclusion in the jurors' notebooks.
(3) Disposition of Notebooks. At the end of the trial, the notebooks shall be collected by court personnel and their contents destroyed, unless the court instructs to the contrary.
(c) Juror Questions of Witnesses. In the court’s discretion, the court may permit a juror to ask a question of a witness. The following procedures apply:
(1) Written Submission of Questions. The juror shall put the question in writing and submit it to the judge through a court officer at the end of a witness' testimony. A juror’s question shall be anonymous and the juror's name shall not be included in the question.
(2) Procedure After Submission. The judge shall review all such questions and, outside the hearing of the jury, shall consult the parties about whether the question should be asked. The judge may ask the juror's question in whole or part and may change the wording of the question before asking it. The judge may permit counsel to ask the question in its original or amended form in whole or part.
(3) Jury Instructions. When juror questions are permitted, the court shall instruct jurors early in the trial about the mechanics of asking a question and to give no meaning to the fact that the judge chose not to ask a question or altered the wording of a question submitted by a juror.
(4) Retaining Questions for Record. All jurors' questions–whether approved or disapproved by the court–shall be retained for the record.