Juries

9th Circuit Reverses Conviction in Ecoterror Case, Citing Judge’s Errors

A federal appeals court has overturned the conviction of a woman who participated in a 2001 ecoterror attack on a university research center in Seattle. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a ruling (PDF) Wednesday, said the now-deceased judge who presided over the case made mistakes…

Sep 16, 2010 4:24 PM CDT

Study Shows Why Caylee Anthony Gets More Press than Mass Genocide

Litigators and journalists likely already intuitively know the findings of a new study on the “scope-severity paradox” and its effect on punishment. The study (PDF) found that people recommend less punishment for crimes that harm more people, and lower damages for torts that injure more victims. The study authors are…

Sep 13, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Oops. Juror Calls Defendant Guilty on Facebook, Before Verdict

Updated: A Michigan juror who indicated in a Facebook post that she believed the defendant in her case is guilty—before the case went to verdict—wound up on the hot seat, too, in the Macomb County trial. The defendant was convicted of resisting arrest after an alternate was substituted for juror…

Sep 2, 2010 7:28 PM CDT

$667M Nursing Home Verdict Surprised Even the Plaintiffs’ Lawyers

A class action lawsuit that resulted in a $667 million verdict last month against a for-profit nursing home company surprised even the plaintiffs’ lawyers. The verdict is thought to be the largest in the country so far this year, the Associated Press reports. The huge award is “sending shock waves…

Aug 31, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

Calif. Lawmakers Approve Bill to Allow Civil Trials with a Time Limit

California lawmakers have unanimously approved a bill that allows civil litigants to opt for trials with time limits and smaller juries. The legislation imposes a three-hour time limit for each side to present their case, the Recorder reports. Under other provisions of the bill (PDF): • Jury decisions are final,…

Aug 25, 2010 12:15 PM CDT

Turow Links Blagojevich Verdict and ‘Hypocritical Mess’ of Campaign Finance

Legal thriller author Scott Turow sees a connection between Rod Blagojevich’s conviction on just one count of lying to the FBI and “the hypocritical mess our campaign financing system has become.” Jurors were split on the other 23 counts in the political corruption trial, with just one holdout refusing to…

Aug 18, 2010 11:43 AM CDT

Blagojevich Jurors Want Copy of Oath; Defense Lawyer Regains His Appetite

Jurors in the political corruption trial of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich have asked the judge in the case to supply a copy of the jury oath. Jurors also asked U.S. District Judge James Zagel how to fill out the jury form for counts on which they can’t reach agreement,…

Aug 17, 2010 5:29 PM CDT

Reverberating Courtroom Forces Mistrial; Lawyer Files Motion for Fix

The echo in a Mississippi courtroom is so bad that a judge declared a mistrial in a personal injury case last week. Judge Lisa Dobson declared the mistrial after jurors raised their hands and said they couldn’t hear the testimony, WLOX ABC 13 reports. Juror Jonathan Caston told the broadcast…

Aug 17, 2010 1:44 PM CDT

Avatars Help Litigators Select Juries in New iPad App

Litigators selecting juries can quickly record juror information with a new iPad app called iJuror. Software developer Scott Falbo designed the application with the help of his wife, Renee, a lawyer with Freid and Klawon in New York state, the Buffalo Law Journal reports. The story calls the app “a…

Aug 2, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Lasting Impressions

Choose your words carefully to help the jury remember your case

Aug 1, 2010 5:07 AM CDT

Blagojevich Judge Unmoved by Presidential-Looking Dismissal Order

Is Barack Obama sending out judicial orders from Cedar Rapids, Iowa? The writer of a letter purporting to be from the president apparently hopes the judge overseeing the political corruption trial of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich won’t see through the guise. U.S. District Judge James Zagel revealed the letter…

Jul 27, 2010 5:36 PM CDT

Tech Check

Lawyer uses Web to sort through jury pool

Jul 1, 2010 7:30 AM CDT

Mistrial Declared After Juror Argues with Judge

A Washington, D.C.-area judge has granted a mistrial in an attempted murder case after a juror argued with the judge, telling him he couldn’t be forced to deliberate. The juror, Uros Novakovski, was forced, however, to go to jail. He spent 24 hours there on a contempt of court charge…

Jun 15, 2010 2:26 PM CDT

Blacks Still Widely Excluded from Southern Juries

Prosecutors in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee still practice the unchecked, widespread exclusion of blacks and other minority jurors, which fuels the denial of justice to black defendants and victims. Racially diverse juries deliberate longer, consider a wider variety of perspectives and make fewer factual…

Jun 2, 2010 1:52 PM CDT

Supreme Court Rejects Death Penalty Appeal Over Juror’s 76 Phone Calls

A federal judge was so aggravated by the 76 phone calls made by the jury forewoman in a death penalty case that he held her in contempt and ordered her to forfeit $2,500 in court pay and perform 120 hours of community service. And, if Cynthia Wilson hadn’t had four…

Jun 1, 2010 4:02 PM CDT