In New York, the answer is absolutely NO!
No you can't.
No, you can't watch.
No, you can't listen in.
Jury deliberations are private.
They're held in secret.
They're confidential.
In a civil lawsuit involving an accident matter or a medical malpractice matter or even a wrongful death matter that goes to trial and involves a jury, you cannot, under any circumstance watch or listen to the jury deciding your case.
"Why not? Don't we have the technology to do that?" you ask.
Of course we do.
We have video cameras and microphones and could wire up every jury room to allow the litigants, the attorneys and the Judge to watch, in real time, exactly what the jury was discussing.
We have that technology.
"Then, why can't we do that?" you ask.
Even if we did that, you couldn't burst into the jury room and answer their questions.
You couldn't now give additional arguments or evidence to something that was brought up during their debate.
It's a very frustrating exercise.
You want to watch, listen and learn about what six members of the community are talking about.
You're frustrated because you know they're talking about YOU!
They're talking about YOUR credibility.
They're talking about the credibility and believability of your witnesses.
They're talking about your experts and the defense's experts.
Maybe they're talking about money.
How much money you are to receive.
On the other hand, maybe they're not.
Maybe they're talking about how the doctor you sued did everything right.
If you heard that, how would it make you feel?
Wouldn't you want to burst into the jury room and tell them they're all wrong?
Would you want to show them all the proof all over again?
Wouldn't you feel like screaming "What's wrong with you people? Didn't you see the same evidence I did??"
From an attorney's standpoint, it would be fascinating to be able to see and hear what's going on inside the jury room as the jury is trying to answer the questions the judge has given to them. It would give us an inside look at what they're focusing on.
Attorneys never get to see that.
The only way we can try is by having focus groups listen to testimony or witnesses in a controlled setting and try to learn from those groups what they were thinking.
However, there's no substitute for actually hearing and listening to the people who are deciding your case.
The reality is that once your case goes to the jury to decide if you are more likely right than wrong that what you are claiming is true, NOBODY knows what will happen.
The judge doesn't know.
The attorneys don't know.
The litigants don't know.
Being able to watch your jury deliberate would be great but extremely frustrating.
You'll see the arguments.
You'll hear the defenses.
You'll hear the reasons why someone agrees with your position and why someone doesn't.
You'll know the jury verdict before they even get out of the jury room!
What if a juror were to Facebook live the jury deliberating?
How cool would that be?
It would be cool, but as soon as someone involved in the case found out, that juror would be called out, dismissed and possibly held in contempt of court. There's also a good likelihood the judge would declare a mistrial.
Bottom line: There is no place in New York that allows you the ability to see or hear what goes on in the jury room as the jury is deciding whether you're entitled to a verdict in your favor.
