Law Vibe

From Illinois Trial Practice Weblog:

Do you find mock trials too expensive? TrialJuries advertises itself as “Mock Juries for the Rest of Us.” Here’s what its website says–

Traditional mock juries are prohibitively complex and expensive for all but the rarest of cases. No longer! TrialJuries.com makes this valuable tool available to regular lawyers with regular cases.

How does it work?

Attorneys log onto the TrialJuries site and submit a case. The first step is to complete a short form with basic information to help you identify the case, and to let us know where it is pending so that we can assign jurors from the correct venue.

After that, you have a few choices: you can make a “Text” submission in which you add a written “statement of the case” from the side of both plaintiff and defendant. Or, you can submit audio or video files for your statements of the case (much like opening statements would be in the real trial). Add exhibits as well if you like. Then just add your Verdict questions and Feedback questions using our “form builder” and you’re ready to “send your case to the jury.”

The basic fee is $1,500. TrialJuries is also soliciting jurors, who are paid $30 to “review the attorneys’ case submissions and answer their questions,” which should “take about an hour.”

I wonder if it works. The feedback would certainly be interesting, but if I understand the system correctly, it doesn’t include the give-and-take and argument among mock jurors that’s one of the best things about mock trials, that is, watching your case being picked apart in real time from behind two-way glass. There’s nothing quite like that experience for learning about the strengths and weaknesses of your case.