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Yet, we maintain a strong legal presumption that jurors follow the instructions.20 Aslong as that presumption remains a feature ofAmerican law, jury instructions will continueto play an outsized role in how we view a trialin retrospect, as appellate lawyers and appellate courts necessarily do.An Appellate Lawyer at Trial?The complexity of trials has risen as thefrequency of trials has plummeted. You canattribute the growing complexity to severalfactors, including increased evidence gathering from sophisticated discovery techniques,the use of new technologies to present evidence and argument, and the high stakesinvolved in some of the cases that make itto trial (especially cases with ramificationsfor related litigation in other jurisdictions).Whatever the reasons for the complexity,there is no doubt that a trial lawyer faces moredemands on his/her attention during a trialtoday than in past eras.A new breed of lawyer has emerged toassist trial lawyers in navigating that fog:20%u201cGenerally speaking, our law presumes that jurors followthe trial judge%u2019s instruction, as upon their oaths they areobliged to do.%u201d Scarborough v. Logan, 395 So. 3d 381, 387(Miss. 2024) (marks and citations omitted)the appellate lawyer at trial. With increasingfrequency clients are paying for an appellatelawyer to attend trial, someone whose focus ison the potential appellate issues buried in thecase and who is zealous about preserving therecord. The appellate lawyer%u2019s role can conform to the needs of the trial, but can includewriting pocket briefs; tracking the proof asit comes in to make sure everything neededfor a claim or defense is in place; arguing atbench conferences; and drafting, revising, andarguing jury instructions; etc.21Having an appellate lawyer at trial freesthe trial lawyer to do his/her job of persuading jurors in an increasingly complex trialenvironment. The appellate lawyer can alsoabsorb heat from the court, if necessary, bycontinuing to re-urge unpopular positionsthat are necessary for record preservation.The appellate lawyer at trial brings a fundamentally different perspective. Imagine, forexample, that opposing counsel makes someespecially inflammatory, prejudicial commentin the jury%u2019s presence. The trial lawyer who21Anna Manasco, New Frontiers for the Appellate Lawyerat Trial, Appellate Issues (Summer 2019), available athttps://www.americanbar.org/groups/judicial/publications/appellate_issues/2019/summer/new-frontiers-for-the-appellate-lawyer-at-trial/.feels like the jury is on his/her side may beloath to move for a mistrial. The appellatelawyer at trial knows, however, that themotion for a mistrial is both unlikely to begranted and imperative to preserve error.22The point is not that the appellate lawyer isalways right and that you should always liberally move for mistrial; the point is that bothperspectives are important and it is rare tofind one person who possesses both.ConclusionThese practice tips are by no meansexhaustive. We did not, for example, discussthe role of pretrial orders or errors committedin jury selection. The road to preserving erroris long. But by preparing and following yourroadmap to preservation before, during, andafter trial, you will see the Chief Justice writing down the specific record citations withwhich you answer his question. You can standat the lectern with the confidence that comeswith preparation.22See, e.g., Knight v. State, 854 So. 2d 17, 21 (Miss. Ct. App.2003).24 SPRING 2025