TruTV InSession’s Jean Casarez has just reported that the judge in the Higbee trial is questioning jurors who have stepped forward to say they know some of the witnesses or other parties involved in the case and that one juror is a surveyor who says he can see things in the crime-scene photos that others may not.

The issue of jurors’ “experience” and “common sense” is a particular interest of this former juror. For some time, I’ve been researching the traditional admonition of judges to the jury to use their special qualities and abilities. Furthermore, I have a particular interest in the phrase “jury of peers” in the history of the English language and the jury system.

So—as I wait expectantly for the judge’s resolution of the renewed jury voir dire—I’m going to polish up my notes on the topic of what jurors traditionally are expected to know and what they are not.

To be continued . . . .