Essential Facilitation and Jury Deliberation

I had the privilege to be the foreman on a jury during my recent two week stint of civic duty. Having never been in this role before, I was concerned that the deliberations could easily become an emotionally charged and unproductive free for all.

In the course of the jury deliberation, I utilized several core essential facilitation methods and it turned out to be an efficient and effective deliberation. All the jury members felt that we agreed on the appropriate verdict and that justice had been served. It was clear that the jury experienced a high level of process satisfaction and solid relationships that lasted beyond the trial. I have gleaned a few principles that helped our deliberation and I believe they generalize well to other jury deliberations.

1. Suspend evaluation

Several twists and turns will undoubtedly unfold as the evidence is presented by both the defense and prosecution. Stay in the moment and focus on understanding the evidence, facts and testimony. You have plenty of time to form an opinion as to guilt or innocence within the deliberation process but first you have to have a clear understanding of all that is presented - don't miss the facts!

2. Avoid taking a position too early - Guilty or Not Guilty?
I think the pride involved in taking a strong position too early can close both our minds and our ears. Positions are the tip of the iceberg and the law, evidence, facts, and our beliefs about them are much richer and deeper. Effective jury members help each other get clear on the facts presented and build shared understanding of these key items. Be open to new perceptions and different opinions as to the value and credibility of evidence and testimony and stay true to your conscience.

3. Anchor the discussion on clear criteria - it's in the law.

The judge provided very clear jury instructions and a summary of the law. One of the most effective things we did was to distill the law into a clear set of criteria as the foundation of our deliberations. This is powerful stuff. It enabled us to focus and weigh the evidence specifically as it pertained to the law. There are so many possible and frustrating paths of discussion a jury can travel. My suggestion - keep it anchored to clear criteria. By the way, we identified 5 key criteria and agreed on 4 of the 5 within the first ten minutes! This type of agreement early on built a very positive spirit, a sense of progress and established the habit of effective listening and paraphrasing early in the deliberation.

4. Give everyone on the jury a "voice in the room" early in the deliberation

Once we were clear on the criteria and identified the "center of the legal target", we went around the room one by one and gave everyone the opportunity to describe what they believed to be most critical relative to the trial. We had to reinforce the ground rules we established for this round robin which included:

-Speak from your own skin
-No interrupting, dialogue, evaluation or cross talking during the initial round robin discussion.

As a result of the round robin report out, we had a good sense of how aligned we were on the facts and had a pretty good sense on where people were leaning in terms of their verdict opinion.

5. Create an open space for effective deliberation

This open space is the core of solid and effective deliberation. It is the space for free flow discussion, clarity on the evidence and the law and influence. Some of the norms we set for the deliberation included:

-Inquire before you advocate

-Trust the process
-Don't interrupt or speak over others
-Keep only one conversation going - no side bar conversations during the deliberation
-Keep the law and the criteria established front and center

6. Utilize a secret ballot - at least initially

It definitely seemed that people like the anonymity of a secret ballot early on. A lot of tension existed prior to the first verdict check-in and particularly as the first set of ballots were counted. As people felt more comfortable and safe within the process, they began revealing their positions. We only took two secret ballots and what ended up being our final vote was a show of hands.

7. Build small agreements and reinforce the progress

The simple acts of agreeing to identify the legal criteria, agreeing to the criteria, engaging in a round robin check-in with ground rules were each subtle but very real in the way they built positive momentum and sense of accomplishment within the group. It clearly felt like a solid foundation was established early on that served the group well through the entire deliberation and helped them to agree on an appropriate verdict efficiently and effectively.

One of the most powerful things one of the attorneys told our jury in the closing argument was this thought: "When you are lying down to go to sleep tonight, make sure you have taken a stand for a verdict that will provide you a clear conscience. Make sure that you vote for what you believe is truly right and that you can live knowing that you had a part in justice being served". It's a great standard to apply.

I hope these tips are helpful. Let me know your comments!