Today's column discusses two procedural issues in a jury trial in federal court: note taking by jurors and jurors being able to ask questions of trial witnesses. These two procedural practices directly affect the jury process, and the courts will closely oversee their application.

Note taking by jurors is well accepted by most courts with some limited instructions by the trial judge. The practice of permitting jurors to question trial witnesses has received limited acceptance by the courts. As I will discuss further below, a federal judge and a federal magistrate in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania will permit jurors to ask questions of witnesses.