Did anyone read the book?

Guns have a faster effect that garners more sympathy? A bullet works faster than cancer and they may have been trying to avoid comparisons to The Rainmaker? The book was very good.

...World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones ~ Albert Einstein

Good book, nice triller. In 22nd minute of film, when Fitch's team analyses the jury candidate, mechanic, you can se next to him huge billboard of Marllboro cigarets, so there is a chance that tobacco company is acctualy producer of the movie, or the message is that only low-lifes and low-class peaople smoke.
But, eitherway, was strange to me that Marllboro appears in Runaway Jury, although they have kept only characters and title from original novel.

I'm on it!

My understanding is that it's a combination of things said here. "Scuttlebutt" in Biloxi when the first feelers were put out to shoot the film there (where the book took place) was that some of the city fathers were opposed to having the film shot there. (Although, for any Mississippi natives out there, can you think of a better scene than to have the judge actually buying their lunch at Mary Mahoney's? I was sorely disappointed that I wouldn't be able to see Bobby Mahoney in a cameo.)

At any rate, I think one of the deciding factors was The Insider. It was (at least partially) filmed in Mississippi (Pascagoula), it dealt with Big Tobacco, it was based on facts, and its critical reception was a good deal better than expected.

By 2003, I'd wager that the production team was ready to move away from Mike Moore and Big Tobacco, and guns seemed ripe for the picking.

Just a thought...

In the Third World, exit polls verify election results. In the US, quite the opposite happens.

now I'm curious, did the movie differ from the book in a lot of ways?

Yeah book was very good.movie is not so good.i mean most of the things are missing.like how fitch tries to manipulate the jury members.how nick wins the confidence of judge harkin.and how nick gets all those votes.

everything has been described in the book in much more sophisticated manner.

I found the book excellent as well - I was a bit disappointed that the movie didnt go to the tune of the book but I understand they have a time restriction too. It was great seeing the characters come to life and Cusack and Weisz played excellent Nick Easter and Marlee.