According to media reports, a US judge has appointed timekeeper to keep attorneys on a short leash in the upcoming Walmart vs Visa USA and MasterCard case.
Judge John Gleeson rejected credit card companies' request to ease time restraints -150 hours total for the plaintiffs and 170 for the defence -and notified them he would have an official timekeeper in the courtroom. The limits were aimed at keeping the trial from lasting longer than three months.
The judge and lawyers will break with custom and directly address the jury on key issues before and during the trial.
Lunch breaks will last 45 minutes. Exactly.
Jury selection starts on Monday.
In an order issued Tuesday, Gleeson laid down the law on what he called "conduct for the upcoming trial."
"The parties will be informed at the end of each trial week of the total time used by each side," the judge wrote.
The judge even considered letting jurors question witnesses and discuss the case, but he dropped the idea amid objections by both sides.
The retailers' lead attorney, Lloyd Constantine, called time limits a "great idea."
Daniel Tarman, a Visa vice president, also insisted the company "supports any effort to assure the jury understands a very complex case."
