To embed, copy and paste the code into your website or blog: There is one question that is particularly important in the context of current high-profile jury trials in the midst of the continuing pandemic, but the question really applies to all trials: Why would we gather large numbers of people together in open court to assess their baseline experiences and attitudes, when we could gain the same information more efficiently using an out-of-court questionnaire? As a trial is preparing to get underway in Hennepin County, Minnesota, they’ve wisely decided on a comprehensive mailed-out supplemental written questionnaire, to be followed by three days of live questioning in small groups. The extra care is warranted, given that the trial involves the charges of murder and manslaughter against the four former police officers — Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Tou Thao, and Thomas Lane — involved in George Floyd’s death this past spring. It is safe to assume that nearly everyone saw Officer Chauvin pressing his knee against Mr. Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes while Floyd repeated in his final moments that he couldn’t breathe.