Tag Archives: Jurors

Avoid Juror Contact And An Ethical Violation.

14 Tuesday Jul 2015

Posted by in Legal Ethics, Litigation, Rules of Professional Responsibility, Trial Tips and Techniques

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Attorney-Juror Contact: What to Do When Running into a Juror Outside of the Courtroom, by Jessica Baer, M.A., Litigation Insights

http://www.litigationinsights.com/case-strategies/attorney-juror-contact-outside-courtroom/

This post makes an excellent point about avoiding contact or the appearance of tainting the jury. If you should find yourself inadvertently in the presence of juror in a courtroom hallway, bathroom, or elevator, avoid eye contact, look down, and appear deep in thought, as if you are not aware they are there. Then get out of there as quietly and quickly as possible. -CCE

Opening statements had just ended and members of the trial team were beginning to return from their lunch breaks. The attorney we were working with for this shadow jury and I got on the elevator in the parking garage and he began telling me about the upcoming witness testimony. As people (some of whom presumably could be jurors) piled into the elevator on the next floor, the attorney stopped our conversation, looked over at me and whispered, “I’ll take the stairs to get some exercise.” I knew what he meant. . . .

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Listen To The Jurors.

29 Friday Aug 2014

Posted by in Criminal Law, Jury Instructions, Jury Persuasion, Jury Selection, Murder, Trial Tips and Techniques, Voir Dire

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Listen to Jurors, Especially to Juror #13 From Pamela Smart Trial. by Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm, The Persuasive Litigator

http://tinyurl.com/k9sh7pw

There is a new documentary in current rotation on HBO and it’s one that trial lawyers and other legal junkies will want to watch. Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart provides a detailed look at the 1991 trial of the New Hampshire school employee who was tried and convicted for accessory to murder in a case that later become the inspiration for the movie To Die For starring Nicole Kidman. According to prosecutors, Smart seduced one of the students and then recruited him to murder her husband. What separates Captivated from other sensationalized post-trial documentaries is that it takes a very informed and critical look at the media’s influence on trials, and also includes a very unique running commentary from one of the jurors, number 13, who provides her own reactions to the case as it unfolded: real-time comments that she spoke into her own tape recorder after every trial day. The result ends up providing a remarkable view into the continuous reactions of a sitting juror. As O.J. Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark remarked in a review in Forbes, ‘The insights provided by this articulate, intelligent juror are the most fascinating, and at the same time unsettling, part of the story.’

Fascinating, because what you’re hearing is a conscientious and thoughtful juror attempting to work through the testimony as it is presented. Unsettling, because it is clear that the media along with the force of a popular presumption of guilt also played a role in this case. Commenting on a ‘media circus’ that made her and the other jurors ‘feel like a bug in a glass jar,’ she nonetheless tries to reach a verdict free from that pressure. Whether she and the other jurors succeeded is one of the central questions posed by the documentary, and viewers are able to draw their own conclusions. As I watched it the other night, a few thoughts occurred to me that carry relevance not only for that jury trial, but for most or all jury trials.

Apologizing Even When It’s Not Your Client’s Fault.

30 Sunday Mar 2014

Posted by in Closing Argument, Cross-Examination, Damages, Defense Counsel, Direct Examination, Jury Instructions, Jury Persuasion, Litigation, Making Objections, Opening Argument, Settlement, Trial Tips and Techniques

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Show You’re Sorry, Even When You’re Not at Fault, by Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm, Persuasive Litigator Blog

http://tinyurl.com/ntvjm5r

[A]s we’ve noted before, letting jurors, judges, and opposing parties hear an apology can be effective when you are responsible, or are likely to be found responsible, for at least part of the damage at issue in the case. But what about when you’re not? Does that second kind of “sorry,” meaning “I recognize your loss, but without accepting responsibility for it” create a persuasive advantage as well?

According to some new research, yes, it does. . . .

How Do Jurors In A Recession Really Feel About The Financial Industry?

09 Sunday Feb 2014

Posted by in Class Actions, Corporate Law, Finance and Banking Law, Jury Persuasion, Jury Selection, Litigation, Trial Tips and Techniques, Voir Dire, White Collar Crime

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Take This To The Bank: Jurors’ Evaluations Of Financial Industry Defendants During A Recession, by Jill Leibold Ph.D., Director, Jury Research, Elizabeth Babbitt, M.A., Consultant, and Louis A. Huber III, of Schlee, Huber, McMullen and Krause, LITIGATION INSIGHTS

http://tinyurl.com/nx84u56

[I]n the following article, published in DRI’s, For the Defense magazine, we wanted to evaluate biases in the way jurors would view banking or finance defendants. Given that almost all of Americans have felt they’ve been affected by the most recent recession, we conducted a study to gauge those positive or negative attitudes toward the financial industry as well as piece together how these issues could shape jurors’ perceptions toward banking and finance defendants come trial. . . .