Word: boldt
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...drastically different design (see cut) is now being tested in a Tacoma, Wash., federal district court. Breaking with a pattern that dates back to the Middle Ages, Judge George Boldt, 60, moved his bench into a corner, put the witness stand in his old spot, stationed the jury box so that jurors can look directly at the witness, and gave the attorneys a lectern at which to stand while speaking and questioning witnesses...
After a thorough tryout, Judge Boldt pronounced his new courtroom "greatly preferable" to the old design on a number of counts. Because the jury box and bench are far apart, he found that he could confer with attorneys off the record without having to dismiss the jury -a time-wasting maneuver in other courtrooms. He also noted a "calmness and ease" during trials because "everybody could see and hear without strain." He liked especially his more direct view of the witness stand ("I can practically take a head-on look") and his eyeline relation to the jury ("The judge...