Murder defendant has horns and 666 tattoo; picture will be shown in voir dire

Potential jurors at a murder trial in Springfield, Massachusetts, will be asked if they can be fair, given the appearance of the defendant. The accused man, 33-year-old Caius Veiovis, has horn implants and a tattoo of the numbers “666” on his forehead, the Berkshire Eagle reports. Defense lawyer James Reardon…

Aug 22, 2014 11:56 AM CDT

Should pot be legal? Do you do crossword puzzles? Answers help lawyers pick jurors

There’s an art to juror questionnaires, according to Philip Anthony, chief executive of the trial consulting company DecisionQuest. The goal is to write questions that elicit enough information without tipping off opposing counsel, the New York Times reports. “For example, if you’re a defendant, you might not want a question…

Aug 21, 2014 1:01 PM CDT

Nevada chief justice is chosen as juror in criminal case

Nevada Chief Justice Mark Gibbons will be serving the legal system in another capacity this week. Gibbons was chosen as a juror on Monday in the criminal trial of a man accused of waving a gun at employees of the Olive Garden in Carson City, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.…

Aug 13, 2014 1:16 PM CDT

Mistrial declared after juror misses a day of deliberations, ignores calls from court

A mistrial was declared in a murder trial Wednesday after the jury forewoman failed to show up for the previous day’s deliberations. The juror, identified only by her first name and juror number, had called in “sick” Tuesday, the Albany Times-Union reports. She later said that her boyfriend had had…

Aug 8, 2014 7:25 PM CDT

Jurors submit 281 questions to judge in hiring corruption trial

Inquisitive jurors in a Boston federal trial submitted 281 questions for witnesses and lawyers to the judge overseeing the corruption trial of three former probation officials. U.S. District Judge William Young posed scores of those questions to witnesses in the trial of three Massachusetts probation officials accused of handing out…

Jul 22, 2014 1:22 PM CDT

Pretrial searches of jurors’ social media could prevent mistrials, judges suggest

If a juror lies when asked about his or her background, that can be grounds for a mistrial. And, given the proliferation of social media, it’s a lot easier than it used to be to find out when a juror has withheld information. But deciding whether to grant a mistrial…

Jul 9, 2014 6:40 PM CDT

Madonna breezes through jury duty, is excused early due to ‘distraction’ she caused at courthouse

Ordinary New Yorkers called for jury duty in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday waited for hours in an assembly room at the 60 Centre Street courthouse. But Madonna got celebrity treatment. Scheduled to arrive an hour later, she went straight to the clerk’s office and soon departed again without being…

Jul 7, 2014 6:45 PM CDT

Lawyers may look at what jurors post online, but only if it’s available to the public

Jul 1, 2014 8:40 AM CDT

Taking on SCOTUS’ own ‘buffer zone’ | Ability as a witness can outweigh top expert credentials

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a Massachusetts law providing for a 35-foot buffer zone for protesters around abortion clinics violated the First Amendment. But the court has its own buffer zone, and it’s getting attention in light of the ruling, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports. Protests…

Jun 27, 2014 1:30 PM CDT

Woman is convicted of causing 2 deaths by stopping for ducklings on highway, faces maximum of life

A jury in Montreal convicted a Canadian woman on Friday of causing two deaths when she stopped her car in a highway traffic lane in 2010 to rescue a family of half a dozen ducklings. Although Emma Czornobaj, 25, lacked criminal intent, she nonetheless faces a maximum life prison term…

Jun 23, 2014 10:25 PM CDT

Judge holds 4 no-show jurors in contempt, will waive $100 fines if they apologize in writing

A trial in Montana nearly had to be rescheduled this month after only half of the 48 individuals summoned for jury duty showed up. A dozen had contacted the Sanders County District Court in advance and were excused. But Judge James Manley ordered the other 12 to appear for a…

Jun 18, 2014 2:15 PM CDT

Elevator conversation results in new trial for BP engineer convicted in Deepwater Horizon case

A federal judge in New Orleans on Thursday blasted defense lawyers in a high-profile criminal case for interviewing jurors after their guilty verdict. Doing so may have violated his instructions to the jurors not to discuss their verdict even after the trial had concluded, U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr.…

Jun 13, 2014 11:45 AM CDT

Hung jury acquits defendant by mistake

Updated: After convicting a co-defendant in a California burglary case, a Fresno jury deadlocked 8-4 on the charges against Bobby Lee Pearson. However, he was acquitted Wednesday when the jury mistakenly signed a not-guilty form, reports the Fresno Bee. A third defendant earlier took a plea. Polled as the verdict…

Jun 12, 2014 4:10 PM CDT

Prosecutor’s explanation for dismissal of potential juror gets him fired

A Texas prosecutor is out of a job because of his explanation for dismissing a potential juror who was a member of the NAACP. Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg fired assistant DA Steve Brand on Wednesday, saying his remarks were racially insensitive, report KVUE and the Austin American-Statesman (sub.…

Jun 12, 2014 12:16 PM CDT

Juror is accused of making Facebook trial comments and lying about it; contempt hearing scheduled

A Florida juror will have to face a judge on June 20 to explain why he should not be held in contempt for allegedly posting comments on Facebook during a personal-injury trial and then denying he had done so. Alexander Sutton, 24, of Boca Raton could face up to six…

Jun 10, 2014 3:34 PM CDT