MAGISTRATE JUDGE MICHAEL F. IASPARRO
327 South Church Street, Courtroom 3200
Rockford, IL 61101
CIVIL JURY TRIAL PROCEDURES IN CONSENT CASES
1. JURY SELECTION
In the Jury Assembly Room, 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 Iasparro’s letter,
entitled Voir Dire Questions, on the Civil Jury Trials & Voir Dire section of Judge Iasparro’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 pretrial conference, for voir dire. After that
questioning, counsel will have a chance to propose follow-up questions at a sidebar (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 Standing Order Governing Proposed Final Pretrial Orders & JERS links on Judge
Iasparro’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 visit the Court’s website on Courtroom Technology or contact the Court’s
operations specialist by email at
[email protected].
3. DISPLAYING EXHIBITS ON THE VIDEO MONITORS
The courtroom’s evidence-display technology has separate controls for the counsel-table video
monitors, the witness’ monitor, and the jury’s monitors. The Court will leave the counsel-table
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monitors set to display during the entire trial. Generally, the Court also will leave the witness’
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 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 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 are asking a witness about an exhibit or set of exhibits already allowed
into evidence and already published, you may signal that you are going to move onto an exhibit
that has 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 is 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 is
being 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 sidebar if objections and
responses are succinct.
Rev. 5/30/2025
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