And sometimes the critical need to focus on persuasion can understandably affect a trial lawyer’s focus on sometimes mundane legal issues. Behind every good trial strategy lies a series of arguments, objections and rulings that could – theoretically – set a case up for appeal regardless of the verdict. I know this better than most, […]
The Jury consequently invests the people … with the direction of society. Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America Yesterday, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) used a lot of his time during the Ketanji Brown Jackson nomination hearing to champion the Constitutionally protected 7th Amendment right to a jury trial. He argued that SCOTUS, the Chamber of […]
Convicted doctors argued their appeal in the United States Supreme Court the other day. At issue are jury instructions given in their case and the standard imposed by the trial court. For nearly 90 minutes on Tuesday, the court grappled with the question of whether good faith is a defense for doctors criminally prosecuted for […]
Yesterday, the Judge in Sarah Palin’s trial against the New York Times announced that he was dismissing her claims at the end of trial but allowing the jury to proceed. This move is often referred to as one of “judicial economy” as it can save the court and parties time later. Getting to trial against […]
The Maxwell jury came back before the holiday, convicting in the sex trafficking case on all but one count – looks [ike multiple decades of prison time. The Holmes / Theranos jury is apparently deadlocked on at least some counts, according to notes to the Judge, As we like to say here, juries are not […]
One of my favorite films about trial lawyering is The Verdict (1982), starring Paul Newman and directed by Sidney Lumet. David Mamet adapted the screenplay from a 1980 novel by Barry Reed. Newman plays Frank Galvin, a lawyer holding on tightly to a medical malpractice claim near the end of his career. He is strung […]
CNN: Oklahoma Jury Verdict Against Aetna: $25.5M
Verdict: $4.8M for Ford Explorer Rollover Windshield Defect
From the ABA Journal reporting on a Philly Xarelto verdict that got overturned: Erdos rejected an alternate ground for overturning the verdict that was based on an Instagram photo by a lawyer for the plaintiff that used the hashtag #killinnazis. Erdos nonetheless scolded and punished the lawyer for the post, the Legal Intelligencer (sub. req.) […]
Now I’ve run out of things to say. There’s obviously no sense talking about this kind of thing … or maybe, there is at that: I find that by putting things in writing I can understand them and see them a little more objectively. And I guess that’s one of the real objectives of writing, […]
