Opinion ID: 371446
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Abilities of Juries

Text: 83 The jury system has never been without its critics, which have included some of this country's most eminent judges. 66 The opponents of the use of juries in complex civil cases generally assume that jurors are incapable of understanding complicated matters. This argument unnecessarily and improperly demeans the intelligence of the citizens of this Nation. We do not accept such an assertion. Jurors, if properly instructed and treated with deserved respect, bring collective intelligence, wisdom, and dedication to their tasks, which is rarely equalled in other areas of public service. 84 Although various views have been expressed about the practical abilities of jurors, there has been little substantive research done on the subject. 67 This is due, in part, to the sacrosanct manner by which our country has regarded the jury's deliberative process. In the federal courts we generally do not allow any inquiry or challenge based on what occurs in the jury room. 68 In fact, the only major study undertaken in this area, which violated the sanctity of the jury room, resulted in a public censure by the Attorney General of the United States and a Congressional investigation. 69 85 Opponents of the use of juries in civil cases look to the virtual abolition of the civil jury in Great Britain as support for why a similar course should be followed in this country. However, an examination of the British experience does not support the conclusion that the gradual obsolescence of the civil jury there resulted from any consideration of the practical abilities and limitations of juries. In fact, the two principal causes of the civil jury's decline were a manpower shortage during World War I and an economy drive during the depression. 70 Neither consideration carries any weight in this country; we do not have a manpower shortage and the cost of juries is minimal at best. 71 And the most important factor which makes the British analogy inappropriate is that the civil jury was never afforded the constitutional protection in Great Britain that it has received in this country. 72 86 As we noted earlier (See n. 17, Supra ), the outcome in ILC Peripherals v. International Business Machines, 458 F.Supp. 423 (N.D.Cal.1978), is used as an example of a jury's inability to serve as a fact-finder in complex cases. After discharging the deadlocked jury, the district judge asked the foreman whether a case like ILC Peripherals should be heard by a jury, to which the foreman responded as follows: 87 If you can find a jury that's both a computer technician, a lawyer, an economist, knows all about that stuff, yes, I think you could have a qualified jury, but we don't know anything about that. 88 458 F.Supp. at 447. Although we can sympathize with the frustration that this juror must have felt after being deadlocked for nineteen days, it does not necessarily follow that the parties would be any better off trying the case to a judge rather than a jury. Although judges are lawyers, they generally do not have any more training or understanding of computer technology or economics than the average juror. Whether a case involves computer technology, aircraft design, or accounting, attorneys must still educate the uninitiated about the matters presented in their case. While we express great confidence in the abilities of judges, no one has yet demonstrated how one judge can be a superior fact-finder to the knowledge and experience that citizen-jurors bring to bear on a case. We do not accept the underlying premise of appellees' argument, that a single judge is brighter than the jurors collectively functioning together. 73 89 In fact, the vast majority of the parties to this appeal oppose the decision to strike the demand for jury trial. We are impressed with this vote of confidence in the jury system shown by the litigants (both plaintiffs and defendants) and their experienced counsel. This serves as additional support for this court's belief that the present case is not beyond the practical abilities of a jury. In fact, experience demonstrates that juries are capable of sorting out complex factual issues and applying the law to them. 74