New jury rule may solve ‘proximate’ confusion

Letter to the Editor

By Richard J. Aronson

SOMETHING TO SAY? We consider letters to the editor one important way to fulfill our ongoing mission to enlighten readers, provoke thought and encourage robust debate on the issues of the day. For guidelines on submitting comments, e-mail editor@lawbulletinmedia.com

Posted October 20, 2017 2:30 PM

Richard J. Aronson is an attorney with Bruce Farrel Dorn & Associates. His letter comes in response to Michael R. Panter’s Mediation Circus column published on Oct. 18, “Cause for concern: Qualms with IPI 15.01,” regarding ambiguous jury instructions.Though the article by retired judge Panter thoroughly showed the age-old problem with the phrase “proximate cause” in Civil Jury Instruction No. 15.01, why not eliminate the useless word “proximate?”After 53 years of trying jury …

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