Juries

Arrested before dawn, three Philly residents are rounded up for new Juror Scofflaw Court

Philadelphians who don’t show up for jury duty will have to face the consequences: The Juror Scofflaw Court is now in session. The court was resurrected in an effort to change this statistic: Only about 13 percent of people summoned for jury duty will appear on the scheduled day. The…

Jun 5, 2014 12:04 PM CDT

Jury dress code violated defendants’ rights, lawyers say in new-trial motion

Two defendants deserve a new trial because courthouse security officers turned away a number of prospective jurors for failing to meet the dress code, lawyers say in a motion filed Friday in federal court in Orlando. The lawyers filed the motion on behalf of defendants Jim Sotolongo and Stephanie Musselwhite,…

Jun 3, 2014 12:08 PM CDT

Woman loses $13K in juror scam

A Florida woman was cheated out of $13,000 by scammers who persuaded her she owed the money because she had failed to perform her jury duty, St. Petersburg police said. Such schemes have been reported throughout the country. In this case, the woman was persuaded to cover the claimed debt…

Jun 2, 2014 7:15 PM CDT

Law firm covers bill for juror whose car was towed during trial of tow truck driver

A Pennsylvania law firm has stepped up to the plate for a juror hit by a double whammy. After inadvertently parking in a Luzerne County Courthouse space reserved for the county manager, Elias Rojas had his car towed Thursday. Luzerne County Sheriff Brian Szumski said the car also appeared to…

May 16, 2014 8:50 PM CDT

Becker-Posner Blog shutters after Gary Becker’s death | Ready for chip-and-pin credit cards?

Nobel Prize-winning economist and University of Chicago professor Gary Becker died last week at the age of 83, and over the weekend, The Becker-Posner Blog said “farewell” with no other commentary. Other law bloggers paid their respects. “Becker pioneered the application of economic analysis to questions that were previously considered…

May 16, 2014 1:30 PM CDT

Public defender is picked for grand jury; judge put PD’s name in the hopper

Prosecutors in Clark County, Nevada, have asked a judge to excuse a newly appointed grand juror for an unusual reason: She is a deputy public defender. Lauren Diefenbach was selected for the grand jury with the help of Judge Jessie Walsh, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. Judges in the county…

May 13, 2014 1:38 PM CDT

Judge says defense can’t videotape jury selection in Colo. movie theater shooting case

Lawyers for James Holmes cannot videotape jury selection for his trial over the 12 people killed and dozens more wounded in a July 2012 shooting at the premiere of a Batman movie at a Colorado theater, a judge has ruled. Saying that the digital video camera could be intimidating to…

Apr 24, 2014 2:50 PM CDT

Murder defendant seeks to have ‘murder’ neck tattoo removed before trial

A Kansas man awaiting trial next week on a first-degree murder charge would rather the jury not see the giant mirror-image “MURDER” tattoo he is sporting around his neck. Jeffrey Wade Chapman, who is charged with the 2011 murder of a man whose body was found by hunters, contends in…

Apr 23, 2014 8:45 PM CDT

Federal judge provides for jury counseling after marshal fatally shoots defendant in court

A new federal courthouse in Salt Lake City was touted for its enhanced security features. However, when a defendant in a racketeering case lunged at a witness at his trial began Monday, it wasn’t the exterior vehicle barricades or the bullet-resistant glass and paneling that stopped him but an armed…

Apr 22, 2014 2:35 PM CDT

Judge jails in-house lawyer who complained in email about being selected for jury service

An Atlanta in-house lawyer was jailed for 24 hours by a Georgia judge for contempt after she complained to him in an email about being selected for jury service in a personal injury case. Wilma Elizabeth Beaty was also fined $500 by DeKalb State Court Judge Dax Lopez after she…

Apr 7, 2014 3:30 PM CDT

Ken Starr is nixed for jury in capital murder case due to expressed views about witness testimony

A distinguished career in the law has allowed Ken Starr to serve as U.S. solicitor general, a special prosecutor, and a federal appeals court judge, among other roles. But the former law school dean and current president of Baylor University has never served on a jury and would be eager…

Mar 20, 2014 3:40 PM CDT

Can federal juror’s comment in deliberations be used to show voir-dire dishonesty? SCOTUS to decide

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether a federal juror’s statements during deliberations can be used to show dishonesty during voir dire. The court agreed to hear the case on Monday, report SCOTUSblog and the Associated Press. The plaintiff in the case is a South Dakota man who…

Mar 4, 2014 2:45 PM CST

Appeals court orders bail for 70-year-old former juror jailed for 6 months in contempt case

A 70-year-old Florida man who has spent more than a month in jail after being sentenced to nearly six months for contempt over his jury service in a high-profile drunken-driving and manslaughter case may not be there much longer. A state appeals court Monday ordered that Dennis DeMartin be allowed…

Mar 3, 2014 11:30 PM CST

Juror, 70, who is serving 6-month contempt sentence must stay in the slammer during appeal

By the time Dennis DeMartin’s appeal of his six-month contempt term is heard, the 70-year-old Florida man will have served it, his lawyer points out. But, so far, there’s been little court sympathy for the argument that DeMartin should be freed while he appeals the five-month, 29-day jail sentence he…

Feb 28, 2014 10:10 PM CST

Definition of ‘premeditation’ elusive in jury instructions, so juror turns to cellphone and Google

Jurors in a Washington state murder trial were told repeatedly by the judge and the bailiff not to do their own research. There’s even a sign on the jury room wall. But one woman apparently didn’t get the memo, and pulled out her cellphone to research the definition of “premeditation”…

Feb 25, 2014 12:05 AM CST