Civil Trial Procedures for Judge Edmond E. Chang
1. Jury Selection. In the Jury Department, jurors are provided with a
letter stating the general background questions each juror will answer during voir
dire. (You can find a link to Judge Chang’s letter, entitled Voir Dire Standard
Letter, on the Civil Trials & Voir Dire section of Judge Chang’s website.) Jurors will
be placed in the jury box and in the gallery according to the random-order list. The
Court will ask the background questions of all jurors. After each juror answers, the
Court will ask the additional questions approved, during the pre-trial conference,
for voir dire. After that questioning, counsel will have a chance to propose follow-up
questions at a side-bar (though the Court will ask the questions). After that last
round of questioning, counsel will exercise for-cause challenges. That will leave the
qualified pool on which peremptory strikes will be made (double-strikes count
against both sides). The first 8 (or however many jurors are being seated for the
trial) non-struck jurors on the random-order jury list will comprise the jury.
2. Exhibit-Naming Convention & Exhibit Copies. Refer to the Proposed
Pretrial Orders & JERS link on Judge Chang’s website (JERS is the Jury Evidence
Recording System) for instructions on how to name and supply exhibits for trial. In
sum, each party shall supply (a) the exhibits in digital format on a USB drive, DVD,
or CD; and (b) the exhibits in paper copy (just 1 set), double-sided in three-ring
binders. The exhibit binders should separate the exhibits with tabs that correspond
to the exhibit number. Show demonstrative and summary exhibits to opposing
counsel in advance of the trial day, even if not offered into evidence. If you need
instruction on the courtroom display technology equipment, please call the Systems
Department (312.435.6045) within the Clerk’s Office.
3. Displaying Exhibits on the Video Monitors. The courtroom’s evidence-
display technology has separate controls for the counsel-table video monitors, the
witness’s monitor, and the jury’s monitors. The judge will leave the counsel-table
monitors set to display during the entire trial. Generally, the judge also will leave
the witness’s monitor set to display during the entire trial, because usually the
other side does not have an objection to the witness being shown the proposed
exhibit. But in order to give the other side time to object to even that step, the
offering party should state something to the effect of, “Your Honor, I’d like to show
Plaintiff’s Exhibit 1 to the witness.” If the opposing party objects to even showing
the witness the exhibit, that is the time to object. Otherwise, the offering party may
display the exhibit to the witness via the offering party’s laptop or the document
camera.
To publish the exhibit to the jury, preface your request with something to the
effect of, “Your Honor, may we publish Plaintiff’s Exhibit 1 to the jury?” The Court
will ask whether there is an objection, and then if publication is allowed, the Court
will turn on the jury’s video monitors. When done with that exhibit, say something
to the effect of, “Your Honor, we’re done with that exhibit,” and the Court will turn
off the jury’s video monitors (and that also will be a signal to your co-counsel or
assistant if you have someone putting on and off an exhibit via a laptop).
As we get deeper into the trial, we might be able to avoid turning off the jury
monitors at certain points. For example, if you’re asking a witness about an exhibit
or set of exhibits already allowed into evidence and already published, you may
signal that you’re going to move onto an exhibit that’s already been published (e.g.,
“Your Honor, we’re done with that exhibit, and I’d now like to show Plaintiff’s
Exhibit 2, which has already been published.” The Court will ask whether there’s
any objection, and if not, the jury monitors will remain on.
4. Witness Examinations / Jury Addresses. All witness examinations
must be conducted from the podium unless otherwise allowed by the Court. The
only alternative site is the end of the jury box, but you must speak loudly enough for
the witness, judge, jury, and court reporter to easily hear you, and speak into the
microphone at the end of the jury box. In order to respect the jury’s time, always
have enough witnesses available so that we make use of the full trial day. Jury
addresses must take place at the podium as well: even if you speak loudly for us to
hear you, the audio-recording system relies on the microphones to record what
you say, and the recording is necessary for transcript preparation or to resolve a
dispute over what a transcript says.
5. Objections. When you object, you must stand so that the Court and the
witness are on alert that an objection will be made. Before trial, counsel should
instruct their witnesses not to answer a question when they see the opposing lawyer
stand and while an objection is pending. You must state a short, non-argumentative
basis for the objection (e.g., relevance, hearsay), and responses must be similarly
short and non-argumentative. Ideally, there will be little or no need for a side-bar if
objections and responses are succinct.
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