Juries

995 ABA Journal Juries articles.

Called to Do His Civic Duty in Chicago, Mr. T Supports the ‘J-Team’

It may not have been that much fun for Mr. T. But jury duty was a blast Monday at Cook County Criminal Court for fans of the 1980s television actor who were also among those called to do their civic duty, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. The first to recognize Mr.…

Apr 29, 2009 11:41 PM CDT

Judge’s Jury Form Mistake Results in Overturned Conviction

A Michigan appeals court has overturned an involuntary manslaughter conviction because a judge forgot to list “not guilty” as an option on a jury verdict form. The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled Michael Jess Wade, a security guard convicted of shooting and killing a suspected thief, deserves a new trial…

Apr 24, 2009 1:59 PM CDT

Rogue Juror’s Note Nixes $3M Pact, Ford Claims; Top Texas Court OKs Discovery

After a six-week trial in a products liability case over a Ford Explorer rollover accident, the forewoman of a jury in Brownsville, Texas, sent a note to the judge on the second day of deliberations. It read: “What is the maximum amount that can be awarded?” At that point, lawyers…

Apr 22, 2009 5:22 PM CDT

Rare Jury Verdict Delay ‘Sheer Agony’ for Bob Bennett & Client Attorney

After days of deliberation, a federal jury in the Southern District of Florida returned a verdict on Thursday in a tax evasion case against Michigan attorney Alan Miller. But it wasn’t announced until the jury also reached a verdict on charges against Miller’s tax client, Indy 500 and Dancing with…

Apr 21, 2009 7:36 PM CDT

Supreme Court Turns Down Case of Bible-Consulting Jurors

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a death-row inmate’s claim that his constitutional rights were violated when jurors consulted a Bible during deliberations. The case, Oliver v. Quarterman, is the second turndown by the court this term that involved jurors consulting the Bible, SCOTUSblog reports. In both cases,…

Apr 20, 2009 3:56 PM CDT

Bad Hair, Harmonious Jury Helped Tip Scales of Justice Against Phil Spector

Now that the dust is settling on Phil Spector’s second-degree murder conviction this week, experts are pondering why a celebrity defendant whose initial trial ended in a deadlocked jury in 2007 didn’t beat the rap this time around. No less an authority than the London Times may have part of…

Apr 16, 2009 1:02 AM CDT

Juror Tweets in $12.6M Case Teach Lawyer a Lesson: Ask About Web Use

“Juror Johnathan” may have been a bit of a twit, as the N.Y. Daily News said in a headline, for posting tweets on Twitter.com while awarding a $12.6 million verdict in an Arkansas case. But his real-time brief posts to the Internet social networking site about his work as a…

Apr 8, 2009 11:20 PM CDT

Supreme Court Upholds Conviction Despite Improperly Seated Juror

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a trial judge’s mistake in seating a juror despite a lawyer’s peremptory challenge did not require reversal of the defendant’s murder conviction. In a unanimous opinion, the court upheld the conviction of Michael Rivera, despite an unsuccessful attempt by his lawyer to use…

Mar 31, 2009 3:29 PM CDT

Law Prof’s Article on His Jury Experience Leads to Overturned Verdict

Updated: A law professor’s article on his experiences as a juror in a slip-and-fall case has resulted in a new trial for a grocery store found liable for $876,000. A New Jersey appeals court ruled today that the defendant deserved a new trial, in part because the professor’s explanation of…

Mar 19, 2009 3:52 PM CDT

A Shock for Judge Zloch: 9 Jurors in 1 Trial Doing Web Research

When U.S. District Judge William Zloch recently learned last week that a juror in a big federal drug trial in Florida had been doing Internet research, in violation of the court’s instructions, he was shocked. But the judge was even more amazed to find out, when he then questioned other…

Mar 17, 2009 8:20 PM CDT

Lawyers Fume Over Juror Twitter Posts; Blogger Wonders What Would OJ Tweet

Updated: Lawyers in two separate cases sought court intervention after discovering that jurors apparently posted Twitter messages while considering the fate of their clients. In one case, the Associated Press reports, a juror is accused of posting this message via cell phone: “I just gave away TWELVE MILLION DOLLARS of…

Mar 16, 2009 2:37 PM CDT

Lawyer’s Impatience as a Juror Could Lead to Disbarment

A San Francisco lawyer faces possible disbarment over accusations that he switched his vote while serving as a juror so he could end deliberations and return to his law practice. California’s Bar Court Review Department is recommending that the lawyer, Francis T. Fahy, be disbarred for his actions in a…

Mar 10, 2009 1:25 PM CDT

Law Prof Who Studied Peremptories Suggests Three-Strike Limit

A law professor who has studied peremptory challenges says they should be eliminated entirely, or at least limited to three juror strikes per lawyer. Peremptories allow lawyers to excuse jurors they believe to be biased without proving it. But they also can be used to mask unconstitutional reasons for eliminating…

Mar 5, 2009 5:58 PM CST

Jury Pool Study Could Put Courts in Hot Water

The criminal case against the combative and controversial lawyer Geoffrey Fieger on campaign finance charges ended in acquittal last year in federal court in Detroit. But the loss his legal defense team handed federal prosecutors might continue paying those negative dividends to the point of payback. A lawyer in Fieger’s…

Feb 27, 2009 10:00 PM CST

Ginsburg Was First Questioner in Two Supreme Court Arguments Yesterday

The first justice to ask questions in Supreme Court oral arguments yesterday was Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was back on the bench less than three weeks after cancer surgery. Ginsburg asked “crisp and vigorous questions” in the two cases, the New York Times reports. One case involved an Indian tribe’s…

Feb 24, 2009 3:43 PM CST

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Juries

Called to Do His Civic Duty in Chicago, Mr. T Supports the ‘J-Team’

Judge’s Jury Form Mistake Results in Overturned Conviction

Rogue Juror’s Note Nixes $3M Pact, Ford Claims; Top Texas Court OKs Discovery

Rare Jury Verdict Delay ‘Sheer Agony’ for Bob Bennett & Client Attorney

Supreme Court Turns Down Case of Bible-Consulting Jurors

Bad Hair, Harmonious Jury Helped Tip Scales of Justice Against Phil Spector

Juror Tweets in $12.6M Case Teach Lawyer a Lesson: Ask About Web Use

Supreme Court Upholds Conviction Despite Improperly Seated Juror

Law Prof’s Article on His Jury Experience Leads to Overturned Verdict

A Shock for Judge Zloch: 9 Jurors in 1 Trial Doing Web Research

Lawyers Fume Over Juror Twitter Posts; Blogger Wonders What Would OJ Tweet

Lawyer’s Impatience as a Juror Could Lead to Disbarment

Law Prof Who Studied Peremptories Suggests Three-Strike Limit

Jury Pool Study Could Put Courts in Hot Water

Ginsburg Was First Questioner in Two Supreme Court Arguments Yesterday

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