Juries

Judge Orders Jury Duty Slacker to Carry Sign in Front of Courthouse

An unemployed man admittedly wasn’t paying attention when an Indiana judge last month told a pool of potential jurors that they had to return to Lake County Superior Court after lunch. Now the unidentified 22-year-old has been ordered to spend two days carrying a sign back and forth in front…

Jan 24, 2012 10:51 PM CST

British Juror Gets 3 Months for Researching Defendant Online, Resulting in Mistrial

A British university lecturer found guilty of contempt for ignoring a Luton Crown Court order and doing Internet research on the defendant while participating in jury deliberations in a criminal trial last summer has been sentenced to a six-month jail term by a three-judge High Court panel. Theodora Dallas, 34,…

Jan 23, 2012 8:23 PM CST

NJ Prosecutor Seeks Court Permission to Conduct State’s First Juror Background Checks

Citing a growing concern about potential jurors who conceal criminal convictions in order to qualify to serve on a panel, a New Jersey prosecutor is seeking court permission to perform criminal background checks on those in Essex County. Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray is scheduled to argue a motion…

Jan 13, 2012 9:15 PM CST

Lawyer Says Wrong Name on Jury Verdict Form Means His Client Isn’t Guilty

Updated: A lawyer in Washington state has filed a motion seeking to overturn his client’s burglary conviction because the jury verdict form named a different defendant. Lawyer Gary Metro says in a motion that the Benton County verdict form carried the name of Anthony Joseph Speelman, an identity theft defendant…

Jan 11, 2012 11:59 AM CST

2nd Circuit Axes Refco Lawyer’s Conviction in $2.4B Fraud Case, Says Judge Erred re Juror Note

Convicted by a federal jury in New York in 2009 and sentenced to seven years in a $2.4 billion corporate securities fraud case, a former Mayer Brown partner today won a vacation of his conviction. Because Joseph Collins was denied his constitutional right to be present at every stage of…

Jan 9, 2012 8:21 PM CST

More Than Just Words: This Is What It Really Means to Talk Like a Lawyer

Jim McElhaney’s 25-year run as Litigation columnist for the ABA Journal will come to a close this 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 “greatest hits”…

Jan 1, 2012 9:00 AM CST

Law Prof Urges Not Guilty Vote in Pot Cases, Supports Man Arrested for Nullification Advocacy

George Washington University law professor Paul Butler has been urging jurors to vote not guilty in nonviolent drug cases since 1995. “If you are ever on a jury in a marijuana case, I recommend that you vote ‘not guilty’—even if you think the defendant actually smoked pot, or sold it…

Dec 21, 2011 6:42 PM CST

Jurors Confuse Knowing and Reckless Conduct, Study Finds

Study subjects reviewing hypothetical fact patterns had trouble distinguishing knowing from reckless conduct, researchers report. The finding has implications for criminal defendants facing greater punishment because of more culpable mental states, the National Law Journal reports. The study, funded by the MacArthur Foundation, asked volunteer “jurors” to sort defendants into…

Dec 21, 2011 4:11 PM CST

Novell Unable to Persuade 21-Year-Old Holdout Juror in Its $1.2B Case Against Microsoft

Novell’s $1.2 billion lawsuit against Microsoft ended in a mistrial on Dec. 16 because of a 21-year-old holdout juror. The holdout was security guard Corbyn Alvey, who has a two-year criminal justice degree, according to KSL.com and the Associated Press. Alvey told KSL there were too many inferences that needed…

Dec 19, 2011 12:57 PM CST

Convicted Murder Defendant Sentenced to Death Gets New Trial over Juror’s Tweets

Agreeing with a convicted murderer on death row that he didn’t get a fair trial because of one juror’s tweets on Twitter, the Arkansas Supreme Court has reversed a jury’s guilty verdict against Erickson Dimas-Martinez. Although a lower court had agreed with a state argument that Dimas-Martinez “suffered no prejudice”…

Dec 8, 2011 10:18 PM CST

Lawyer Seeks Trial Delay, Says Courthouse Xmas Tree OK, But Crime-Victim-Photo Ornaments Create Bias

An Alabama criminal defense attorney doesn’t object to the Christmas tree in the Houston County Courthouse or even the ornaments, featuring photographs of crime victims, with which it is decorated. But Billy Joe Sheffield II does object to having it displayed, next to the jury room, as his clients’ cases…

Dec 2, 2011 3:53 PM CST

Enter Angus: His Initial Words of Wisdom Focus on Cross-Examining Expert Witnesses

McElhaney’s Greatest Hits: 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. The Journal is reprinting some of McElhaney’s “greatest hits” from…

Dec 1, 2011 9:20 AM CST

NY Prosecutors Defend Jury Tampering Charges Against Courthouse Protester

A retired chemistry professor who passes out jury nullification brochures outside courthouses claims he has a First Amendment right to do so. Julian Heicklen, 79, is asserting his right to free speech in defense of jury tampering charges filed by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, the New York Times reports. Heicklin…

Nov 28, 2011 2:43 PM CST

Jury Convicts Texas Judge in Bribery Case; Campaign Donors Allegedly Expected Favorable Rulings

A Texas judge was convicted yesterday of multiple counts of bribery and other crimes, in a case focused on 2008 campaign donations from individuals who allegedly expected favorable rulings in a family court matter, in exchange for the money. District Judge Suzanne Wooten, 43, testified that she knew nothing about…

Nov 23, 2011 9:02 PM CST

Pro Se Ex-Prosecutor Accused of Conspiring to Murder an FBI Informant Wins a Mistrial

Updated: Saying that the jury was hopelessly deadlocked in its sixth day of deliberations, a federal judge today declared a mistrial in the case of New Jersey attorney Paul Bergrin, the Star-Ledger reports. The former state and federal prosecutor could have faced a life sentence if he was convicted on…

Nov 23, 2011 6:30 PM CST