Juries

Houston Jury Says Feds Can Seize $330M From Foreign Bank Accounts Controlled By R. Allen Stanford

In a move that puts the feds a step closer to getting their hands on the assets of onetime billionaire R. Allen Stanford’s business operations, but doesn’t assure that they will beat out competing claimants, a federal court jury in Houston decided on Thursday that Stanford must forfeit to U.S.…

Mar 9, 2012 5:55 PM CST

A Juror Walks Into a Bar and Gets a Med-Mal Defense Verdict Reversed by Talking to an Attorney

A juror who walked into a bar after the conclusion of a medical malpractice case and talked to a stranger who happened to be an attorney about his bias against the plaintiffs and insistence on trying the case according to his own rules has managed to achieve the opposite of…

Mar 7, 2012 11:30 PM CST

Fetish Filmmaker Credits 75-Year-Old Juror in Snowman Sweater for 2nd Mistrial in Obscenity Case

A fetish filmmaker facing a criminal obscenity case has for the second time won a mistrial in federal court in Los Angeles. This time, Ira Isaacs tells the Los Angeles Times, a 75-year-old juror who wore a Christmas-themed sweater featuring snowmen to court one day last week was one of…

Mar 7, 2012 6:13 PM CST

Order in the Court: Fear Is the Biggest Obstacle to Effectively Organizing Your Case

Editor’s Note: Jim McElhaney’s 25-year run as Litigation columnist for the ABA Journal will come to a close next fall. During those years, McElhaney’s straightforward advice on trial practice became one of the most popular features in the magazine. To commemorate McElhaney’s contributions, the Journal is reprinting some of his…

Mar 1, 2012 9:10 AM CST

Another Federal Judge Appoints Counsel for Man Claiming to Have Been Fired Over Jury Duty

It isn’t just in Florida that a federal judge has appointed legal counsel to represent an individual who claims to have been fired last month over reporting as required for jury duty. After finding a reasonable basis for a claim by a suburban Chicago man that he was let go…

Feb 22, 2012 10:17 PM CST

Model Who Said Her Skintight Outfit Showed She Wasn’t Armed Wins $1.2M in NYPD Excessive-Force Suit

A Manhattan jury awarded $1.2 million to a former Playboy Playmate yesterday—nearly $400,000 more than her lawyer had sought—in an excessive-force lawsuit she brought against the New York police department after a 2006 dispute with a cabdriver. Stephanie Adams, 41, initially called police to complain about the driver, who then…

Feb 22, 2012 7:45 PM CST

Juror Who Sent Defendant Facebook Friend Request and Joked About Being Booted by Judge Gets 3 Days

A Florida juror who sent a friend request to the defendant in an auto negligence trial on Facebook in December was dismissed from hearing the case as a result. But what apparently really got Jacob Jock into trouble was a subsequent Facebook post. The message: “Score … I got dismissed!!…

Feb 17, 2012 10:41 PM CST

Ethics Complaint Claims Lawyer Tried to Sway Potential Jurors by Posting Discovery Video on YouTube

An ethics complaint alleges a downstate Illinois lawyer attempted to sway public opinion against the prosecution of his drug client by posting a discovery video online. Lawyer Jesse Raymond Gilsdorf hired a company to post the video of an undercover drug buy on YouTube in April 2011 and then linked…

Feb 16, 2012 4:29 PM CST

Suspended Lawyer Is Hauled into Court, Admits She Lied About Legal Past to Get on Jury

A suspended lawyer who served on a jury that convicted a Jenkens & Gilchrist partner in a tax fraud case admitted on Wednesday that she hid her legal past.. Catherine Conrad testified after she was arrested, hauled into court and promised limited immunity, report the Wall Street Journal Law Blog…

Feb 16, 2012 1:32 PM CST

Ex-Juror in Tax Fraud Trial Is Arrested After Failing to Show Up for Hearing into Hidden Legal Past

A suspended lawyer who served on a Manhattan jury that convicted four tax-shelter fraud defendants was ordered arrested when she failed to show up today for a hearing into her alleged failure to disclose information during voir dire. One of the convicted defendants is lawyer Paul Daugerdas, who once headed…

Feb 15, 2012 7:42 PM CST

Federal Court Appoints Lawyer to Sue Employer Who Allegedly Fired Woman on Jury Duty

A federal court in Florida has appointed a lawyer to represent a woman who says she was fired by her employer for serving required jury duty. Kadrya Reddick, who works as a truck driver, says Swift Transportation claimed she quit her job after she told the company she couldn’t pick…

Feb 13, 2012 11:37 PM CST

Juror Who Friended Defendant Could See Jail Time

A Florida man who got kicked off a jury for friending a defendant in an auto accident case apparently compounded his problems with a Facebook post after the fact. Jacob Jock of Sarasota chronicled his excitement at being dismissed, according to lawyer Damien Mallard, who represents the plaintiff. “He went…

Feb 9, 2012 3:33 PM CST

Resolution Tackles Expert Evidence Issues in Criminal Cases

The ABA House of Delegates has approved a resolution designed to help jurors in criminal cases assess expert evidence. Resolution 101C urges judges and lawyers to consider several factors in determining how expert evidence should be presented to juries and how jurors should be instructed. The resolution lists seven factors,…

Feb 6, 2012 4:39 PM CST

See It Now: Past Events Seem More Real When They’re Described in Present Tense

Editor’s Note: Jim McElhaney’s 25-year run as Litigation columnist for the ABA Journal will come to a close in the fall. During those years, McElhaney’s straightforward advice on trial practice became one of the most popular features in the magazine. To commemorate McElhaney’s contributions, the Journal is reprinting some of…

Feb 1, 2012 9:10 AM CST

Vermont Supreme Court Overturns Molestation Conviction Because of Juror’s Internet Research

A Somali Bantu immigrant who was convicted of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl will get a new trial because of a juror’s internet research about his culture. A trial judge had found the research didn’t affect the guilty verdict against Ali Abdi and wasn’t prejudicial, but the Vermont Supreme Court…

Jan 30, 2012 1:28 PM CST