iPad Apps for Lawyers: iJury for Voir Dire

Reprinted with permission from the Jan. 19, 2012 issue of Law Technology News. ©2012 ALM Media Properties, LLC.

iJury

After a lengthy trial and engaging voir dire without computer assistance, Orlando, Fla.-based attorney Lawrence Williamson teamed up with computer technician Sean Ham (who assisted Williamson with trial logistics and document management) to come up with iJury, an affordable iPad app that would enable attorneys to "concentrate on the art of voir dire and move away from the excessive note taking and paper shuffling."


Digital convergence is an admirable charge for any app and fits well with the iPad vision. I've reviewed several apps designed for jury selection (voir dire) and monitoring and, although they all appear to be helpful, the fiercest competitor to iPad apps remains the venerable Post-it® Notes.


Some things just seem to work better the old-fashioned way. Perhaps one reason is that entering data on the iPad, although it can be comprehensive, takes most of us longer than scribbling on sticky notes. While it is likely just a simple matter of adjusting your work flow to input data on the iPad, I still see more people using the familiar little yellow squares than apps such as iJuror, JuryTracker, Jury Duty, or even full-feature software applications such as Jury Box.


One thing sticky notes can't do is perform data analysis, but that is true of most iPad apps for voir dire. Most apps do a decent job of storing and retrieving juror information, but don't do much in the way of looking at the big picture. iJury is different. Once you've entered personal information on each juror, you're able to view the bigger picture, literally, in a series of dynamic charts. These bar charts indicate trends in your jury pool, including overall indications of positive, negative or neutral scores for your case, as well as a desktop view of a jury's gender and racial balance and socioeconomic status.

Figure 1

Figure 1 shows a high-altitude view of iJury that can help flag potential issues with your currently seated panel of jurors. Additionally, a sample set of common voir dire questions is included, which may be scored positively or negatively for each juror according to their responses -- and you have the option to add your own questions.

Figure 2

Launching iJury the first time brings up a nice tutorial video, which you may also view online. I thought this was a nice touch, allowing you to get a quick feel of what the app is all about and how to handle each task. The video can also be accessed again later by tapping the "Info" icon in the Case browser.

Figure 3

In comparison to other apps for jury selection, iJury requires a similar amount of input for each potential juror, and focuses only on the currently seated panel vis-a-vis the entire jury pool. When using the iPad in this manner you would certainly want to enter all of your juror information ahead of time from their responses to your questionnaire.

Figure 4

Overall, iJury appears to be a nice alternative for iPad-wielding attorneys and trial consultants looking to clean up the counsel table and keep it free from sticky notes during voir dire. And at only $14.99, it won't break the bank.


:::: PRODUCT INFORMATION ::::

Manufacturer: Dynamis Law
Product: iJury for iPad
Price: $14.99