The Recorder
September.01.2020
In this Law.com article, partner Rob Shwarts calls for the legal system to mobilize behind reducing the number of required jurors for civil trials to get cases back on track in California’s court system during the Covid-19 crisis.
Rob, a member of our litigation practice, stresses that it is crucial for attorneys to change their mindset and stipulate to a lower number of jurors, given the challenges to protecting health and safety in the trial courtrooms of many of the state’s jurisdictions. The article also calls on the judiciary to encourage attorneys to agree to less jurors to enable parties to resume their ability to resolve their civil disputes by trial.
“We need to get over the idea that there must be 12 jurors in the box to conduct a state court civil trial,” Rob writes. “This number is not legally required, and while Covid-19 persists, it is simply not a practical or feasible count for the jury.”
The full article can be read here: California Civil Trial Juries Need to Be Smaller to Get Our Courts Back on Track