The View from the Jury Box

In this special guest episode of "The Trial Lawyer's Handbook" podcast series, litigation attorney Dan Small talks with Miami litigation attorney Jose Casal about his recent experience serving as a juror in the Miami-Dade courthouse. Mr. Casal states he wished he had the opportunity to serve on a jury at the beginning of his career because of the perspectives it gave him on how the jury thinks and operates. Sitting on the other side of the bench made him realize that tactics such as objections and impeachments were often seen by jurors as annoying and ineffective, merely slowing down the trial and distracting from its main points. Similarly, the case featured numerous claims and objections, resulting in a 22-page verdict that Mr. Casal found confusing even as a trained lawyer. Based on this experience, Mr. Small and Mr. Casal agree that presenting your case simply and clearly is far more beneficial and convincing for Juror No. 6 than legal technicalities they do not understand.