Juries

Should juries be feared or revered? Retired lawyer examines their roles

The jury system first scared me at the age of 9. How, you ask? I grew up in Montreal, the son of parents who immigrated from Belgium. My late father was a humble tailor who worked in a factory. One day, we received a letter in the mail. It had an impressive-looking logo of a crown and the scales of justice.

Oct 13, 2020 3:30 PM CDT

Oregon and Louisiana grapple with past criminal convictions made with split verdicts

In April, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Ramos v. Louisiana that split verdicts in state trials for serious criminal offenses violated the Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial, overturning a high court ruling in 1972 that upheld them. The effect of the court’s ruling in Ramos is that state courts will now vacate cases with split verdicts on direct appeal. Prosecutors will next decide whether to retry them. What is unclear is whether the ruling will apply retroactively.

Oct 1, 2020 2:10 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Breonna Taylor grand jury recordings will be released; another firm pays special bonuses

Kentucky AG will release Breonna Taylor grand jury recordings Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron has said he will comply with a judge’s order to release a recording of grand jury proceedings in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor. Officers conducting a raid killed Taylor when her boyfriend opened fire, thinking…

Sep 29, 2020 4:31 PM CDT

State AG drops case against Black man who faced 6 murder trials and spent 23 years in prison

After six murder trials that ended with overturned convictions or mistrials, prosecutors in Mississippi announced Friday that they were dropping the case against Curtis Flowers.

Sep 8, 2020 9:46 AM CDT

Potential juror says he was put in COVID-19 ‘petri dish’ at jail for refusing to wear mask in court

A visiting judge in Great Falls, Montana, held a juror in contempt and sent him to jail last week for refusing to wear a face shield or a mask for a trial.

Aug 31, 2020 10:54 AM CDT

Can you be removed from a jury pool for supporting Black Lives Matter?

Questioning a potential juror named Crishala Reed, the prosecutor homed in on a sentence from Reed's questionnaire. "I support Black Lives Matter," she had written.

Aug 21, 2020 10:55 AM CDT

Discussion on Zoom between plaintiff and jurors is not grounds for mistrial, judge says

A California judge has refused to grant a mistrial in an asbestos case in which the plaintiff chatted with jurors on Zoom during a break in the virtual trial.

Aug 20, 2020 10:11 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Lawyer is accused of $20M money laundering scam; BigLaw firm trims salary cuts

Lawyer is charged in alleged $20M cryptocurrency scam Lawyer Scott Hughes, 44, of Newport Beach, California, has been accused of helping launder at least $20 million in an alleged cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. The indictment unsealed Tuesday claims that Hughes and four other defendants promised guaranteed returns for phantom investments in…

Aug 19, 2020 4:29 PM CDT

8th Circuit rules against grand juror who wanted to talk about Michael Brown case

A federal appeals court has ruled against a grand juror who wanted to correct the record after a prosecutor discussed evidence in the 2014 fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old Black man, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.

Aug 19, 2020 2:36 PM CDT

Netflix’s new Jeffrey Epstein docuseries explores conspiracy theories and crime cover-ups

Oklahoma lawyer Adam Banner breaks down Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich and various conspiracy theories surrounding the accusations against Epstein and his death. Banner also shares personal experiences in which he has dealt with client suicide.

Aug 11, 2020 9:20 AM CDT

Lawyer-juror’s outside research entitles man to new trial hearing, appeals court says

Outside research by a lawyer-juror entitles a convicted Colorado defendant to a hearing on his new trial bid, a state appeals court has ruled.

Jul 28, 2020 11:26 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Trump sued over census policy excluding immigrants; judge swears in 37 new US citizens

Trump faces federal lawsuit over new policy of excluding immigrants from 2020 census The city of Atlanta, several nonprofit organizations and naturalized citizens sued President Donald Trump on Thursday over his plan to exclude undocumented immigrants in the 2020 census reporting used to calculate states’ seats in the U.S. House…

Jul 24, 2020 4:27 PM CDT

Potential jurors exercised, curled up on bed during virtual voir dire, motion says in asbestos case

Potential jurors were distracted or absent during a virtual voir dire that was “riddled with various problems,” according to a mistrial motion filed on behalf of an asbestos defendant.

Jul 22, 2020 2:41 PM CDT

Wrongfully convicted man hopes to win ‘America’s Got Talent’ and suit against criminal justice system

Inside Louisiana’s maximum security prison, inmate Archie Williams used to watch America’s Got Talent and visualize himself performing on the show. It was a dream that couldn’t have seemed further from reality. But on May 26—37 years after his conviction and a little over a year since his exoneration and release—his improbable dream came true.

Jul 21, 2020 8:00 AM CDT

Every lawyer should sit on a jury at least once

The system works, just not the way you think it does. If you can get on a jury, do it. It is an experience worth having and provides insight into the law, what a jury is confronted with, and how they handle, or don’t handle, what you tell them.

Jul 16, 2020 12:49 PM CDT