Effective July 1, 2012 Illinois Pattern Jury Instruction 1.01 has been modified to permit jurors to ask questions of certain witnesses. This instruction and corresponding comments are in line with the recent adoption of Illinois Supreme Court Rule 243 that authorizes judges to let jurors submit written questions in civil jury trials. While individual judges have discretion to hammer out the procedural details, IPI 1.01 provides the framework. Judges will be the ultimate arbiters of the form and submission of the questions; but this new approach will give the jurors the ability to clarify testimony or explore facts that they deem significant. This is a positive step in integrating jurors into the fact-finding process that is emblematic of our extraordinary American justice system.
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