Forgive me, I'm not really following the case and just kind of keeping up minimally based on what you're all posting here, but I have a question and some thoughts based on your discussion.
The Defendant is getting a preview of the jury questions, not going to have them placed to her for the first time while on the stand in the presence of the jury? If this is true, I'm shocked. IMO it's proper for the jury to be able to observe the witness' raw initial reaction to the questions.
As far as being concerned about the jury needing to ask questions, I wouldn't read into it that they're leaning towards sympathy or belief in her story. Based on what I've seen here in the couple of years since the jury has been allowed to ask questions, and particularly for a jury like this one who have had to suffer through months of this, juries tend to ask a lot of the questions you or I might like to ask. Throughout the case questions have been asked by both sides, questions specifically asked in a certain way to frame testimony in a light that fits their theory of the case. It's usually a relief to hear some truly direct, cut to the heart of the issue questions after endless parsing of details and evidence.
In regard to the jury only being allowed to ask questions during deliberation -- that would only be questions regarding the law, the application of the law and possibly asking to review evidence or see a transcript of testimony presented during the trial. Jury questions during deliberations don't allow further witness testimony to answer something a jury decides wasn't explained during the trial. Once proofs are closed, closing arguments are made and the jury is instructed no more proofs are taken in the case -- absent some very, very groundbreaking findings -- such as a video of the murder surfacing and revealing someone else committed the crime, it was a suicide or the presumed victim surfacing alive and revealing someone else was the victim -- none of which appears at all likely.
It's on now. Well streaming anyways.
