Trivia: When Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman have their showdown in the lavatory towards the end, Hackman greets him and says that this is a "long overdue pleasure." This is a reference to the fact that this scene is the first scene ever between Hoffman and Hackman, two former classmates at film school, in their substantial screen careers. Despite being in the industry for decades, and being long-time friends, they had never made a movie together.
Trivia: In the bathroom scene, Rohr tells Fitch "Nice shoes. Big Tobacco?" - it's a reference to the "Runaway Jury" book, where the Big Tobacco was 4 major tobacco companies, who were the defendant.
Trivia: Everyone walks around the French Quarter drinking Starbucks coffee. There isn't a Starbucks very close to the Quarter. The closest one is also hard to find. When I'm there I usually drink Cafe du Monde coffee while walking around the Quarter.
Trivia: In the beginning of the film, when John Cusack is talking to the man who is cleaning out the fountain, he tells him that he needs to stop smoking because cigarettes will kill him. This is probably a nod to the trial in the book, which involved the widow suing a big tobacco company because her husband died of lung cancer. The movie version was changed to a gun trial.
Trivia: The goth-like juror named "Lydia Deets" is a nod to the character of the same name and of similar attire in Beetlejuice.
Answer: Jennifer Beals' role is a bit of a misdirection towards the viewer, a little like Janet Leigh in "Psycho". It misleads the viewer into beleiving she might be crucial to the plot.