Seven simple steps for picking better juries in short order
While much has been written and discussed about jury selection, the truth is, we make it much more complicated than it needs to be. Lawyers USA Columnist Richard Gabriel suggests a few basic steps to...
View ArticleWhen jurors zone out
If you notice a juror staring off into the vaulted courtroom ceiling during your carefully planned trial, you may have a juror with attention-deficit disorder. Zoning in and out, difficulty...
View ArticleCalif. jurors face jail time for social media use during trial
Jurors in California face the possibility of jail time if they violate a new rule prohibiting them from engaging in social media during trial or deliberations. The new law, signed by Governor Jerry...
View ArticleGoing once, going twice, sold!
Growing up as the son of a cattle trader, some of Rafe Foreman’s fondest childhood memories were of going to cattle auctions with Dad – the welcoming crowds, the excitement of the event and the...
View ArticleTweeting and napping jurors give defendant new trial
A capital murder defendant is entitled to a new trial based on a juror who fell asleep and another who tweeted during the trial. During Erickson Dimas-Martinez’s trial for robbing and shooting a...
View ArticleStudy: Jurors struggle with reckless, knowing conduct
A new study has found that jurors often struggle with how to distinguish reckless or knowing conduct on the part of defendants. The study, Sorting Guilty Minds, appeared in a recent issue of the New...
View ArticleProsecutors seek to check criminal history of jurors
Prosecutors in New Jersey are asking a court for the birth dates of all potential jurors for purposes of running criminal history checks on them. In a motion argued in New Jersey Superior Court, the...
View ArticleStudy: Jury pool racial makeup has effect on convictions
A study has revealed that the racial makeup of the pool from which juries are selected influences conviction rates – and that having even one African-American member in the pool from which a jury is...
View ArticleGet real to better impress jurors
With a new year often comes new resolve to be better at who we are and what we do. There is always room for improvement, and that’s certainly true when it comes to arguing in front of a jury. There are...
View ArticleTrials of the century and juror bias
In a recent book, Lise Pearlman, a former managing partner at Stark, Stewart, Wells & Robinson in Oakland, Calif. and retired presiding judge of the State Bar Court, looks at the 1968 capital...
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