Juries

Judge blames ‘mindless digital interaction’ for juror texts during murder trial, OKs guilty verdict

Despite her denials, a juror in a high-profile New York murder trial clearly did discuss the case during deliberations, via her cellphone, a state court judge has ruled. Johnna Lorraine’s father even sent her a text, on the day she was selected for the jury, stating: “Make sure he’s guilty,”…

Jul 28, 2015 3:55 PM CDT

Inmates are more likely to get the death penalty if their faces are deemed untrustworthy, study says

Convicted murderers whose faces were rated more untrustworthy were more likely to be sentenced to death than those with more trustworthy faces, according to a study of inmates convicted of murder. The first part of the study, led by University of Toronto social psychologist John Paul Wilson, asked 208 online…

Jul 21, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Bailiff relays jury impression of defense lawyer in trial texts to prosecutor

A bailiff relayed the jury’s impression of the criminal defense lawyer—who was said to be “a pain in the butt”—in text messages exchanged with one of the Harris County prosecutors during a recent DWI trial in Texas, according to the lawyer who was critiqued. Lawyer Jed Silverman says the bailiff…

Jul 20, 2015 10:25 AM CDT

Judge delays civil trial because of lawyer’s Facebook post

An Iowa judge has delayed a civil trial because of a Facebook post by a high-profile trial lawyer. In a ruling last week, the Polk County judge delayed the trial until November because of the post by lawyer Roxanne Conlin of Des Moines, the Des Moines Register reports in an…

Jul 14, 2015 10:37 AM CDT

Were relatives culpable in shooter’s deadly courthouse attack? Jury to decide in cyberstalking trial

A federal jury began deliberating Wednesday in an unusual cyberstalking case against three relatives of a man who committed a fatal courthouse shooting. Prosecutors say the wife, son and daughter of Thomas Matusiewicz played a role in his deadly Feb. 11, 2013 attack on Christine Belford and Laura Mulford, by…

Jul 9, 2015 12:10 PM CDT

Over 100 convictions reversed over faulty jury instructions on manslaughter

Over the course of 15 years, Florida lawyers sometimes wondered about a discrepancy between the state’s legal definition of the crime of manslaughter and what standard form jury instructions said. But not until 2009 did Richard Summa, a public defender in Tallahassee, argue the issue on appeal. The result was…

Jun 29, 2015 1:00 PM CDT

Judge cites ‘tainted juror,’ grants mistrial to former football players in rape case

A Tennessee judge on Monday cited a “tainted juror” when he granted a mistrial in the case of two football players found guilty in the rape of an unconscious woman. Judge Monte Watkins of Nashville said the juror, who was elected foreman, had failed to disclose during voir dire that…

Jun 24, 2015 8:00 AM CDT

Lawyer accused of using forged power of attorney to help pull off double murder wins mistrial

A Missouri lawyer accused of killing her father and his girlfriend has won a mistrial before the jury was even seated. As jury selection was concluding Tuesday in the case against Susan Elizabeth Van Note, 48, the judge granted a defense request to end the trial because of improper discussions…

Jun 10, 2015 2:30 PM CDT

Judge ousts three jurors in trial of accused theater shooter James Holmes

The judge overseeing the trial of accused movie theater shooting suspect James Holmes ousted three jurors from the case on Tuesday. Judge Carlos Samour Jr. found that one juror, No. 872, had seen news reports about the case and gave details to other jurors, despite entreaties not to do so,…

Jun 10, 2015 12:45 PM CDT

Lawyer spends a night in jail over his attitude about being selected for jury duty

All a Nevada lawyer said was “thanks a lot” as he headed past the courtroom’s attorney tables after being selected for jury duty on Monday morning. But that was enough to get Kurt Smith in hot water with District Judge Ron Israel, who overheard the remark, the Las Vegas Review-Journal…

Jun 5, 2015 1:05 PM CDT

Savvy trial lawyers create sensory experiences to help jurors perceive witnesses’ stories

Last summer I attended an intensive, weeklong postgraduate writing workshop at Vermont College for Fine Arts given by the novelist and memoirist Andre Dubus III (House of Sand and Fog and Townie). Not surprisingly, of the six participants I was the only lawyer. We met daily to discuss our writing.…

Jun 1, 2015 6:00 AM CDT

Do notes highlighting prospective black jurors support a Batson violation? SCOTUS accepts case

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether Georgia prosecutors violated a constitutional ban on the use of race in jury selection when they used jury lists with green highlighter noting black prospective jurors and used peremptory challenges to strike all of them. The court granted cert on Tuesday…

May 28, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Family law attorney who shot estranged husband is cleared by grand jury

A Texas family law attorney initially charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the February shooting of her estranged husband has been cleared by a San Patricio County grand jury. It declined to indict Kimberly Frost-Salazar, 41. She and a male friend said in 911 calls that she…

May 27, 2015 12:00 PM CDT

Man on trial in bail-jumping case exits courtroom as lawyers talk with judge in chambers

Free on bond in a gun-possession and bail-jumping case, a 29-year-old New Orleans man was in court there Thursday for a jury trial. But at some point during an in-chambers conference between the lawyers and the judge in the case, Harry Riggins walked out of the courtroom past a bailiff…

May 21, 2015 2:20 PM CDT

Accused art scammer is convicted after bizarre trial; dismissed juror has screaming fit about Nazis

An accused art scammer who represented himself at trial, racking up 471 days in jail for interrupting the judge and making prejudicial statements, has been convicted for fraud and for a short-lived escape from custody. Jurors in San Francisco convicted Luke Brugnara on Tuesday, a day after a ranting juror…

May 20, 2015 7:43 AM CDT