Juries

Called for Jury Duty, Jailed Shooting Suspect Frets About New ‘Legal Troubles,’ Writes to Be Excused

Jailed on what he describes as “some very serious felony charges,” a suspect in the shooting deaths of four people at a Long Island, N.Y., pharmacy last month was worried that failing to respond to a summons for jury duty after his arrest could create more “legal troubles.” So David…

Jul 7, 2011 9:51 PM CDT

Consultant Advised Defense to Strike Young Moms from Casey Anthony Jury

A Houston jury consultant who helped the defense select the jury for the Casey Anthony trial advised against putting parents with young children on the jury. Consultant Karen Hurwitz told KHOU 11 News she advised the defense against selecting jurors like Casey Anthony. “If somebody has young children it’s a…

Jul 6, 2011 1:25 PM CDT

A Happy Place: San Francisco Courts Care for Kids Whose Parents Have Court Business

Lenore Cobbs, Denise Bradford and Maire Larkin (l to r) are staff members of the Children’s Waiting Rooms at the San Francisco civil courthouse and the Hall of Justice. Photos by Norbert Von Der Groeben. When self-employed contractor Robert Hayden was called for jury duty in April in San Francisco’s…

Jul 1, 2011 9:00 AM CDT

Depravity Scale May Help Judges and Juries During Sentencing

Which is worse: a contract killing or a sexual homicide? The murder of a pregnant woman or a police officer? Slowly torturing somebody to death or planting a bomb designed to kill as many people as possible? These are the kinds of determinations that judges and juries are called on…

Jul 1, 2011 8:50 AM CDT

New Mich. Rules Allow Jurors to Ask Questions, Judges to Summarize Evidence

Michigan Chief Justice Robert Young Jr. says jurors will no longer be treated like kindergarteners under new rules adopted by his court. Now jurors may take notes, discuss the evidence throughout civil trials, and pass along questions for witnesses to the trial judge, report the Detroit News, the Detroit Free…

Jun 30, 2011 12:16 PM CDT

Did Blagojevich’s Testimony Hurt His Case? One Juror Saw Him as Manipulative

Some jurors liked former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. But one found him manipulative. An alternate noted he remembered everything for his lawyers but seemed to remember nothing when questioned by prosecutors. But jurors were unanimous in finding him guilty of 17 counts involving allegations of scheming to raise campaign cash…

Jun 28, 2011 11:37 AM CDT

UK Juror Sobs After Getting 8-Month Sentence for Contacting Defendant on Facebook

Corrected: A juror in the United Kingdom who admitted contacting a drug defendant through Facebook has been sentenced to eight months in prison for contempt of court. Joanne Fraill of Manchester put her head on the table and “sobbed uncontrollably” when the sentence was announced, report the Guardian, the BBC…

Jun 16, 2011 12:03 PM CDT

Juror’s Note About ‘Cutie’ DA Isn’t Grounds for Reversal, Says NY Top Court

A juror’s note to a judge asking for the name and number of a “cutie” assistant district attorney is not grounds for overturning the defendant’s conviction for manslaughter, according to New York’s highest court. The New York Court of Appeals said the judge handled the note “quite skillfully,” the Albany…

Jun 15, 2011 3:16 PM CDT

Ex-Prosecutor Beats Rap on 4th DWI, Will Keep Law License, After Police Ticket-Fix Scandal Exposed

A New York attorney who formerly served as a prosecutor in the Bronx was found not guilty in a felony drunken driving case today by a Bronx Supreme Court jury. If convicted of driving while intoxicated, Stephen Lopresti could have lost his law license. He has three prior DWI convictions…

Jun 2, 2011 6:15 PM CDT

Dirty Dozen: 12 Ways to Write a Really Bad Brief

It was one of those great brainstorming sessions that you can never plan but that sometimes just happen. I was talking with Chris Lutz, a partner in the litigation department at Steptoe and Johnson in Washington, D.C., about legal writing, and the discussion settled on bad briefs. How many ways…

Jun 1, 2011 6:50 AM CDT

9th Circuit Cites ‘12 Angry Men,’ Says Holdout Juror Should Not Have Been Dismissed

A federal appeals court based in San Francisco has cited the classic film 12 Angry Men to illustrate why a holdout juror in a murder trial should not have been dismissed for bias. The May 23 opinion (PDF) by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the murder conviction…

May 25, 2011 1:18 PM CDT

Judge Orders Lawyer to Jail for ‘Atrocious’ Behavior During Jury Selection

A Boston criminal defense lawyer has been sentenced to 90 days in jail for an outburst during jury selection that a judge ranked as the worst he’s seen in 20 years on the bench. Before he was sentenced, lawyer Barry Wilson said he didn’t think his conduct was egregious, the…

May 20, 2011 12:31 PM CDT

Juror Accused of Asking Med-Mal Plaintiff’s Dad for a Cut of Any Verdict

A juror in a medical malpractice trial was arrested when he showed up in a New York courthouse on Tuesday. Deonarine Persaud, 53, of Long Beach was accused of soliciting a bribe for a favorable verdict, report the Long Island Press and the Associated Press. His alleged offer: He would…

May 18, 2011 1:13 PM CDT

Prosecutors Look to Social Media for Selecting Casey Anthony Jurors

Prosecutors trying Casey Anthony, a 25-year-old Florida woman charged with murdering her young daughter, were armed with Internet information during a special Saturday jury selection, checking out panel members’ social media profiles during voir dire. According to the Associated Press, prosecutors in the high-profile case used a peremptory challenge to…

May 16, 2011 3:54 PM CDT

Judge in Casey Anthony Case Doesn’t Play, Holds Potential Juror in Contempt for Talking to Media

As an unusual off-site jury selection process continued today in Pinellas County, Fla., for a high-profile murder trial in Orlando, the presiding judge had his patience tested. Yesterday, Orange-Oscela Chief Judge Belvin Perry dismissed 50 prospects after they unexpectedly conversed about the Casey Anthony case with a potential witness who…

May 11, 2011 8:24 PM CDT