Stephen R. Kaufmann and Michael P. Murphy of HeplerBroom's Springfield, Illinois office published an article in the June 2011 edition of the Illinois Bar Journal. The article, entitled "Juror Questions During Trial: An Idea Whose Time Has Come Again," advocates allowing greater involvement of jurors in the course of civil trials by allowing them to propose questions of witnesses pursuant to a procedure strictly controlled by the trial judge. Concurrently with submitting the article, the authors submitted a proposed new Supreme Court Rule to the Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee on the subject of juror questions. A public hearing was held regarding adoption of the proposed rule on May 20, 2011, with Mr. Kaufmann testifying before the Committee. The Supreme Court of Illinois will ultimately determine whether the proposed rule will be adopted.

The article can be viewed in the Illinois Bar Journal, Vol. 99 #6, June 2011.

The text of the proposed rule can be viewed here.