Follow up: Colorado Supreme Court approves of jurors' questioning witnesses

The Colorado Supreme Court upheld a pilot program it started in 2000 to allow jurors to question witnesses during trials last week. State v Median & State v Moses (consolidated cases). The Court found that a properly controlled process to allow jurors to question witnesses would provide adequate due process to defendants. Earlier news reports compared this experimental process to the relatively few states like Nebraska which dont allow jurors to ask questions during the trial. Interestingly the Colorado Supreme Court decision cites Nebraska's State v Zima, 468 N.W.2d at 378, 79 where the defendant had initiated a discussion with a juror about breath tests in dwi cases. Although juror questions in this case was improper, the defendant could not appeal an issue he invited. Medina, slip op at 26, note 14. In these Colorado cases, the questions may have been improper but the errors were harmless. Arizona v Fulminante 499 US 279. Colorado will therefore allow juror questions in trials subject to court screening and procedural safeguards including appeal review under Chapman "harmless(trial) error" rules Chapman v California 386 US 18