New York state Judge Joseph Gerace has some strict and unusual rules for the trials he conducts:
In his court in Chautauqua County, Gerace talks to the jury panel for about 15 minutes. Then he gives each lawyer 15 minutes to pick six jurors and an alternate, 10 minutes for opening statements, an hour to present the case and 10 minutes for closing.
No more than two witnesses may be called by each side. If the opposing lawyer chooses to cross-examine a witness, the time it takes is deducted from the hour. Additional testimony may be presented in documents, including depositions, that can be read by jurors during deliberations. Juries often come back in well before two hours are up.
Some weeks, Judge Gerace schedules as many as 15 of these trials a week. How does he do it? The trick is, the verdicts are non-binding. The trials are a settlement tool, but a very effective one. The National Law Journal has the details here.
In his court in Chautauqua County, Gerace talks to the jury panel for about 15 minutes. Then he gives each lawyer 15 minutes to pick six jurors and an alternate, 10 minutes for opening statements, an hour to present the case and 10 minutes for closing.
No more than two witnesses may be called by each side. If the opposing lawyer chooses to cross-examine a witness, the time it takes is deducted from the hour. Additional testimony may be presented in documents, including depositions, that can be read by jurors during deliberations. Juries often come back in well before two hours are up.
Some weeks, Judge Gerace schedules as many as 15 of these trials a week. How does he do it? The trick is, the verdicts are non-binding. The trials are a settlement tool, but a very effective one. The National Law Journal has the details here.
New York state Judge Joseph Gerace has some strict and unusual rules for the trials he conducts:
In his court in Chautauqua County, Gerace talks to the jury panel for about 15 minutes. Then he gives each lawyer 15 minutes to pick six jurors and an alternate, 10 minutes for opening statements, an hour to present the case and 10 minutes for closing.
No more than two witnesses may be called by each side. If the opposing lawyer chooses to cross-examine a witness, the time it takes is deducted from the hour. Additional testimony may be presented in documents, including depositions, that can be read by jurors during deliberations. Juries often come back in well before two hours are up.
Some weeks, Judge Gerace schedules as many as 15 of these trials a week. How does he do it? The trick is, the verdicts are non-binding. The trials are a settlement tool, but a very effective one. The National Law Journal has the details here.
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