If you were on a jury and you had a question, even if it seemed like a really good one, you kept it to yourself. The same was true of most states, even though it s expressly against the rules only in Mississippi. Although the practice dates to the late 1800s, for whatever reason over time silent juries became the unofficial law of the land. Daniel L. Harris was the judge who fielded the dead-guy question. As the state s leading advocate of jury questions, the Jackson County judge was happy to explain the law.
Judges get to ask questions.
It seems to me that the same opportunity should be afforded jurors, too. Harris said the idea behind questions and other jury reforms is to make jury participation more meaningful. He noted that disobedience of court-ordered summons to jury duty has coincided with a general trend of civic apathy, particularly with regard to voter turnout. At roughly 70 percent, Jackson County has one of the highest rates of jury turnout in the state. Multnomah County, on the other hand, has a turnout of barely 30 percent.