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<\/p>\nDespite familiarity with the phrase \u201cless is more,\u201d lawyers can\u2019t seem to help themselves \u2013 they ask question after question after question.<\/p>\n
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That this irks jurors is beyond doubt.\u00a0 As one article written by a jurist who interviewed hundreds of jurors reported,<\/p>\n
The most important theme that came through on evidence presentation: do not repeat what you\u2019re saying. The jurors really, really despise repetition, because they feel like you\u2019re talking down to them. They feel like you think they\u2019re stupid if you keep repeating matters over and over.<\/p>\n
Here are some examples of what they said:<\/p>\n
\u201cRepeating of the question 304 times\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRepeated the same thing over and over.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStop asking the same questions over and over.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLots of repeating, same thing\u2014okay, we get it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWould like to see attorneys question the witness without repeating the<\/p>\n
same question three different ways and then summarizing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lawyers constantly rephrasing sucks.\u201d<\/p>\n
So the jurors get it. You don\u2019t have to ask the same questions and you shouldn\u2019t ask the same things over and over. Again, they feel like you\u2019re talking down to them. That you think they\u2019re stupid if you keep asking the same thing over and over. And back to the other common theme, you\u2019re wasting their time. They don\u2019t like their time wasted.<\/p>\n
So you should ask clear and relevant questions. They don\u2019t like lengthy, compound, or convoluted questions; they like short, clear, and easy to understand questions.<\/p>\n