Trial
A case will proceed to trial if the case is not dismissed by the judge and Defendant’s motion for summary judgment is denied. If the case is in federal court and a jury is requested, the judge will set it for a jury trial. For cases filed at the other administrative agencies other than the EEOC, the case will be heard by an Administrative Law Judge with no jury.
Plaintiff is expected to be present each day of trial or hearing. Trial begins with jury selection. The judge and lawyers would interview a pool of potential jurors and the selection process will end with a jury of 6 to 12 persons impaneled. After jury selection, the case begins with the Plaintiff making their opening statements after which the Defendant makes an opening statement. Following opening statements, the Plaintiff will call their witnesses and the Plaintiff’s lawyers will question each of them. After each witness is questioned by the Plaintiff’s lawyer, the lawyer for the Defendant will cross-examine that witness.
The next witness for the plaintiff will then be called. The Plaintiff also testifies at length and is usually subjected to cross-examination by the Defendant’s lawyer. After the Plaintiff calls all of their witnesses, they will then rest their case. Defendant will typically move for a directed finding after Plaintiff’s case. If the motion is denied, the defendant will begin to call its own witnesses to be questioned by its lawyers and cross-examined by the Plaintiff’s lawyer.
After all the witnesses testify, the Defendant would typically again ask the judge to enter a directed finding. This basically request that the judge dismiss the case and not let the jury deliberate and reach a verdict. If the judge grants the motion, the case will be dismissed and the jurors will be released and the case would be over. If the judge denies the motion and lets the case proceed, each side is permitted to make a closing argument to the jury. The closing argument is designed to explain the evidence to the jury and emphasize important aspects of each side’s testimony and evidence.
After closing arguments, the jury is taken to the jury room to deliberate and reach a verdict. The lawyers and parties are required to be close to the courthouse and to return within a short time in the event the jury has a question or has reached a verdict. When the judge is informed that the jury has reached a verdict, he summons the lawyers and the parties to the courthouse. Once in the courthouse, the foreman of the jury will read the verdict and announce the winner and the amount of the award. A typical jury trial for employment cases lasts 3-7 days.