Google faces rare jury trial in DOJ Bet on public’s tech unease

The Justice Department’s newest suit against Alphabet Inc.’s Google includes a surprising request: a jury trial.

Federal antitrust lawyers typically opt to present their cases directly to a federal judge. But in its second suit against Google, the Justice Department asks that everyday people determine whether the company’s advertising technology business violates the law.

It’s a risky move, given the complexity of the subject matter. But it could help the Justice Department sidestep the increasingly conservative judiciary, where judges have aligned with large corporations for decades and ruled against it in a string of cases last year.