Why You Need to Know Your Jury
Whatever your opinion about controversial filmmaker Michael Moore, he did recently offer some unwittingly sage advice to trial lawyers everywhere: He reminded us why it's important to conduct juror research early and often. Last week, a judge in New York dismissed a juror in the final throes of a case against banking giant Citigroup, after it was discovered that the juror was listed in the credits of Moore’s 2009 documentary that berated Wall Street and the banking industry. Citigroup ultimately prevailed in the case but the question of the biased juror made for an awkward, if unavoidable, situation.
When reached by Bloomberg News for comment about the judge’s decision to remove the juror, Moore, who said the juror didn’t work on the film, added, “You’ve got to feel sorry for Citigroup. They’re paying all this money to their attorneys and they didn’t even bother to Google her ‘til last night.”
The filmmaker may have been too severe. Solid information about jurors' biases is generally hard to come by, even when online research can be done during voir dire. What’s more, it is not known how this juror answered questions during voir dire or how cleverly she hid any biases up to that late stage in the trial.
It’s also important to point out that Citigroup’s lawyers were wisely attentive to this juror’s behavior during the trial and that they smartly took action immediately upon sensing a subtle change in her demeanor. As the judge commented after deciding to dismiss her, she answered questions in a manner that struck him as deceptive. She may well have withheld important facts and biases just to be seated on the jury.
That said, the incident emphasizes the cardinal rule of persuasion: know your audience as well as you can. We have Michael Moore to thank for the reminder.
