You the Jury
By Jenny Nixon,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Viewers choose the verdict in sensational courtroom reality.
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What's the Story?
Controversial Fox News personality Jeanine Pirro serves as the Ryan Seacrest-style host of YOU THE JURY, introducing the key players and announcing the binding, audience-decided verdict at the end of each show. Retired former Superior Court Judge LaDoris Cordell presides as judge, while the participants are represented by any one of six well-known attorneys, lawyers who have represented high-profile clients such as Alex Rodriguez and Casey Anthony. The trials follow the usual pattern of opening statements, witness interviews, expert testimony, and so on -- but when it comes to the summation portion of the proceedings, the attorneys are sidelined while the plaintiff and defendant are seated face-to-face and make their final statements directly to one another. This is all happening in a slick, stadium-like set filled with cheering and jeering audience members and a jumbotron-style monitor zooming in on every tear-streaked moment. At the end of each episode, viewers at home can text or use an app to cast their votes for guilty or not guilty, the same way one would vote for a favorite performer on a televised variety show.
Is It Any Good?
While it's understandable that a network would want to update the boilerplate courtroom-show format, giving murder and racial discrimination cases the glitzy game show treatment is a bit much. The stadium seating lends a Thunderdome-type feel to the proceedings of You the Jury, with glaring spotlights and sound effects adding extra drama. The grandstanding attorneys are beyond over the top, physically circling their foes during cross-examinations while the live audience loudly vocalizes their support or disapproval.
It's one thing to televise civil cases about a neighbor's barking dog or an ex-roommate who trashed your apartment, à la the milder scenarios seen on The People's Court and similar shows, but when the civil cases presented concern human lives being extinguished, there's something very tasteless about treating the proceedings like a monster truck rally. There's a reason actual court cases are decided by a jury of one's peers and not a live television audience.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about whether being on a show like You the Jury would be a good way to prove someone's guilt or innocence. How might having an audibly reacting live audience affect how people view the facts of the case?
Why might someone want to appear on a show like this? Would the face-to-face portion of the closing arguments be a good way to get things off your chest as a participant?
In real life, a jury is carefully screened so as to be as unbiased as possible. How might a case's outcome be affected when a jury pool becomes open to anyone with a working cell phone?
TV Details
- Premiere date: April 7, 2017
- Network: Fox
- Genre: Reality TV
- TV rating: TV-14
- Last updated: February 26, 2022
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