Some
courts are lenient with the amount of time allotted for a trial, some are not.
It certainly can seem impossible, sometimes, to jam the amount of evidence and
testimony you have in the number of hours permitted.
And yet,
as is so often true of many things in life “Less is more.”
On being
debriefed, some jurors stated that the matter at hand was treated with less
than full consideration as the trial stretched on and on. Jurors began
discussing plans for the various events in their lives, sharing thoughts about
how to deal with children, difficult bosses, and so on, clearly impatient and
bored with what they were experiencing as an unnecessarily long process.
Jurors
who may have had the patience to sit through long trials and long deliberations
some 10 or so years ago are no longer willing to be held hostage past what they
consider a sufficient rendering of the facts and testimony. Our world has sped
up tremendously: we abbreviate everything, we rely on bullets and headlines, and
we expect everything to happen quickly, as in “now.”
This is
one of the great advantages of focus groups: attorneys are forced to reduce
their entire case to a mere hour and a half, which puts a glaring spotlight on
what is essential and what could be left aside.
Yes, you
still must get across your points, you must still develop testimony and present
evidence appropriately. However, a great deal can often be trimmed from the
presentation of your case without losing impact. If anything, you generally
gain impact from being succinct.