Juries

Spector Judge Does About-Face

The judge in the murder trial of music producer Phil Spector has agreed to revoke a jury instruction requiring prosecutors to prove the record producer held the gun that fired while in actress Lana Clarkson’s mouth. Deadlocked jurors had told Judge Larry Paul Fidler that they found the instruction confusing,…

Sep 20, 2007 2:34 PM CDT

Spector Jurors Say They’re Deadlocked

A week after deliberations began, jurors in Phil Spector’s second-degree murder trial say they can’t agree on a resolution. But although the panel reports it’s divided almost equally between those who believe the famed music producer is guilty and those who don’t, the case isn’t over yet, reports the Los…

Sep 19, 2007 12:02 AM CDT

Hearing Transcripts to Go Online

The policy-making arm of the nation’s federal courts voted today to make it easier for both lawyers and the public to access court materials. For lawyers, the big news is the plan approved by the Judicial Conference of the United States to put transcripts of district and bankruptcy court proceedings…

Sep 18, 2007 7:01 PM CDT

Hazing Grand Jury Showed Independent Streak

Were the charges against two administrators charged in the hazing death of a Rider University student a case of a runaway grand jury? An assistant prosecutor had tried to steer grand jurors away from an indictment of two deans who oversaw students and Greek life, but didn’t succeed, the Trenton…

Sep 17, 2007 4:46 PM CDT

Furor Over Presentence Story About Jurors

An unusual front-page newspaper article about jurors selected, after four months of questioning, to determine the sentence in a high-profile death-penalty case has caused a furor. The prosecutor, defense counsel, at least some jurors, and journalism experts are among those questioning the Connecticut Post’s judgment in printing the article, according…

Sep 14, 2007 5:00 PM CDT

Stars Stump for Jury Stamp

Mariah Carey was among the celebrities in a New York courthouse yesterday to help unveil a new jury duty stamp. Carey and other celebrities attended because they served on a New York jury panel, the New York Law Journal reports in a story reprinted by New York Lawyer. Other stars…

Sep 13, 2007 6:00 PM CDT

Court OKs Sleeping Judge at Jury Trial

Saying that a jury trial requires a judge’s physical presence rather than his attention, a divided Australian appeals court panel decided that a slumbering judge did not require retrial of two men convicted on drug charges. Each was sentenced to more than a decade in prison. The judge, who suffered…

Sep 6, 2007 6:07 PM CDT

Stamp of Approval for Jury Service

Robert J. Grey Jr. has never been on a jury, but it’s not for a lack of trying. The former ABA president made strengthening juries one of his priorities during his tenure, and he takes jury duty seriously. Last year he filled out his jury questionnaire and walked it over…

Sep 5, 2007 1:15 PM CDT

No Jury Duty for Janet Reno

These days, it isn’t all that unusual for a lawyer, or even a judge, to serve on a jury. But there are still a few justice system figures who apparently can still expect to be eliminated from the prospective panel pretty quickly. Among them: former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno,…

Aug 27, 2007 10:15 PM CDT

Dissent Hits ‘Dysfunctional’ Jury in Ex-Gov’s Trial

A federal appeals court has affirmed former Illinois Gov. George Ryan’s conviction for fraud and corruption, despite jury problems during the trial. The Chicago-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit ruled that the federal judge who oversaw the six-month trial acted within her authority when she replaced two…

Aug 21, 2007 5:10 PM CDT

Ruling Thwarts Perjury Prosecutions

A federal appeals court ruling permitting grand jury witnesses to review their testimony is winning praise from criminal defense lawyers. The June ruling could help witnesses clear up misstatements that can lead to perjury charges, defense lawyers told Legal Times. But prosecutors worry that co-defendants will share their testimony with…

Aug 21, 2007 11:09 AM CDT

Judge: Spector Lawyers Violated Rules

The judge in the ongoing Phil Spector murder trial has rebuked the music producer’s attorneys for a violation of discovery rules “so deliberate and so egregious” that it requires a remedy. Hence, Judge Larry Paul Fidler said Thursday, he is going to instruct the jury to take it into consideration…

Aug 17, 2007 7:36 PM CDT

Judge Tells Jurors: No ‘CSI’

A judge in Butler County, Ohio, thinks some TV crime shows have created unrealistic expectations for jurors—and she’s doing something about it. Judge Patricia Oney of Hamilton bars jurors from watching TV shows ranging from CSI to Law & Order, the Associated Press reports. “So many shows now are pulled…

Aug 14, 2007 2:53 PM CDT

No Ban on Copying Juror Notes

A federal appeals court has overturned a sanction of more than $14,000 against two lawyers who copied jury notes at the end of a case. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based in Richmond, Va., said there was no bad faith nor abuse of the litigation process since the…

Aug 13, 2007 1:36 PM CDT

Company Charged in ‘Big Dig’ Death Case

A grand jury has charged with involuntary manslaughter the Brewster, N.Y.-based company that provided the glue that is being blamed, in part, for the collapse of the “Big Dig” tunnel in Boston last summer. A passenger in a car underneath was crushed to death when the roof of the Interstate…

Aug 8, 2007 8:48 PM CDT