Juries

Judge chides jury for ‘bizarre’ DWI acquittal, sees OJ Simpson parallel

A Texas judge recently disagreed with a jury’s acquittal in a DWI case, and he let them know it. Visiting Judge Jerry Ray told Tarrant County jurors that the acquittal amounted to jury nullification and it was “one of the most bizarre verdicts that I’ve ever seen.” The blog Liberally…

Nov 25, 2013 12:34 PM CST

Judge axes defense jury verdict in malpractice case due to conduct of insurer lawyer watching trial

A New York judge has overturned a jury verdict for the defense in a dental malpractice case due to the conduct of a lawyer who was retained by a major insurance company to follow trial developments as a spectator in the case. That lawyer, Scott Greenspan of Manhattan, “violated the…

Nov 20, 2013 5:45 PM CST

Juror’s ‘total lack of manners’ could result in contempt finding, judge says

A judge has declared a mistrial and is considering holding a juror in contempt because her “total lack of manners” distracted others in the case. The unidentified woman rolled her eyes, stared at the ceiling and fiddled with her jewelry after she was selected to serve on a jury in…

Nov 5, 2013 7:20 PM CST

Angry prospective juror says what he thinks on questionnaire, gets 3 days in jail instead

As a convicted felon, Erick E. Haubenstricker could have been excused from jury duty simply by including this fact on a questionnaire. But the 36-year-old Michigan man took a different tack on the document, adding profanity-laced comments that blasted the system. On Monday, despite apologizing, he was sentenced to three…

Nov 4, 2013 7:25 PM CST

Veteran lawyers share their ‘aha’ trial moments (podcast with transcript)

Litigators usually don’t want trial surprises, but sometimes you can learn from them. In this month's podcast, ABA Journal reporter Stephanie Francis Ward interviews three veteran trial attorneys to glean what "aha" moments they've experienced, in both trial and pre-trial work.

Nov 4, 2013 4:55 PM CST

Fear of juror Googling didn’t justify order to remove pages from lawyer website, appeals court says

A judge violated a lawyer’s First Amendment rights when he ordered the lawyer to take down references to asbestos wins on her website during a 2011 trial on similar issues, a California appeals court has ruled. The Second District Court of Appeal ruled on behalf of lawyer Simona Farrise last…

Nov 4, 2013 10:45 AM CST

Is the law firm associate model being phased out? | Encrypt laptop for ethics’ sake, blogger writes

The notion of creating a new class of associates that receives more training, less pressure to bill and less pay has taken hold at Greenberg Traurig as an alternative to the “quasi Hunger Game” model (as a Forbes writer put it this week) in which elite associates spend a brutal…

Nov 1, 2013 2:17 PM CDT

Juror dismissed for complaining about length of trial, pronouncing defendants guilty

A juror in a Pennsylvania home invasion trial has been dismissed for complaining about how long the trial was taking and for prematurely pronouncing the defendants “guilty.” The woman, identified only as juror 11, left a voice mail on a court official’s phone wanting to know how much longer the…

Oct 30, 2013 6:30 PM CDT

Scammer seeks to profit by imposing ‘fines’ on those who missed jury duty, authorities say

It’s no secret that many people blow off jury duty the first time or two they are summoned. That’s given an enterprising Colorado criminal an idea for a scam, in which he calls up individuals and threatens to arrest them if they don’t ante up to pay “fines” for not…

Oct 29, 2013 10:33 PM CDT

Lawyer who flipped the bird at defendant is removed as juror; was cab conflict the reason?

A lawyer who is a partner at an elite Manhattan law firm has been removed as a juror in a New York fraud case, but flipping the bird at the defendant is apparently not the reason for her dismissal. The lawyer was dismissed on Friday, apparently because she read a…

Oct 22, 2013 11:48 AM CDT

Breastfeeding mom faces contempt of court for bringing her baby to jury duty

Updated: A breastfeeding Missouri woman facing a contempt of court case for bringing her baby to court for jury selection has been granted a reprieve. At a Thursday hearing, Jackson County Presiding Judge Marco A. Roldan told Laura Trickle of Lee’s Summit that he would take the matter under advisement.…

Oct 21, 2013 12:17 PM CDT

Juror who flipped the bird at defendant is partner at elite law firm; will she stay on jury?

Updated: A federal judge is considering whether to boot a juror from a high-profile corruption trial after she flipped the bird at someone she thought was stealing her taxi—one of the defendants in the case. The juror is a lawyer, report the New York Times and the New York Daily…

Oct 17, 2013 12:08 PM CDT

New trial sought because juror didn’t reveal he was an attorney and blogged about case

A burglar who was sentenced to nearly 39 years in prison as a habitual offender is asking a federal appeals court to reverse his conviction due to the conduct of a California lawyer who served as foreman of the jury that convicted him. Defendant Donald R. McNeely initially filed the…

Oct 11, 2013 3:05 PM CDT

Undocumented immigrants may get a law license in Calif., but noncitizens still can’t serve on juries

California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill that allows immigrants who are not U.S. citizens to get a law license in the state. California is the first state in the nation to allow undocumented immigrants to get law licenses, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Brown signed the bill…

Oct 8, 2013 11:52 AM CDT

Inmate held 41 years in solitary dies just days after court orders his release from prison

An inmate held in solitary confinement for 41 years for the murder of a Louisiana prison guard has died just a few days after he was released from prison because of a federal judge’s order. The New York Times reports that the inmate, Herman Wallace, died Friday morning from liver…

Oct 7, 2013 3:33 PM CDT