Cause challenges play an important role in jury selection. When a potential juror has an acknowledged barrier to basing their decision on a neutral understanding of the evidence and the law, they should not serve. However, when…
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/ Civil Procedure, Law Practice Products & Services
Will the individuals who serve on your jury be the same people they were before they were called for service and selected? Will they have the same mental habits and preferences they exhibit in their civilian lives outside the…
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/ Civil Procedure, Criminal Law
Imagine an attorney going over her notes before oral argument. She already has a solid set of reasons lined up and then decides to add one more argument that has been a little controversial within the team: some like it, but…
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/ Civil Procedure
America’s civil litigation system can sometimes look a little like class warfare. On one side — often, but not always the defense — there will be an organization and a group of individuals who enjoy substantially more wealth…
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/ Civil Procedure
These are trying times for those of us who are looking to see whether American rule of law can survive its current challenges. As our executive branch tests the limits of Congressional authority, and bucks the traditions of…
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/ Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law
As a witness prepares to testify in trial, the big fear is often cross-examination. While the direct questioning by the witness’s own attorney is seen as the “easy part” (friendly, open-ended questions that allow you to “tell…
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/ Civil Procedure
We live in uncertain times, and that is becoming a more obvious observation by the day. From the turmoil in the financial markets to the tumult in the marketplaces of ideas, there is a widely felt lack of security,…
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/ Civil Procedure, Personal Injury, Products Liability
A couple of weeks ago, I was in court to help pick a jury in a high-value case. During that early phase of jury selection, the gallery was full to capacity with potential jurors, the counsel and parties were present, the clerks…
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/ Civil Procedure, Law Practice Products & Services
Everyone who works with our court systems, including those who work in civil litigation, are invested in the idea of rule of law. Whether our case has to do with governmental powers or not, whether it involves civil rights or…
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/ Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Elections & Politics
It is common advice for witnesses in the courtroom or representatives at counsel table: keep a poker face. That advice — avoid scowls, grimaces, and other head-shaking reactions while you’re being observed by a jury — has some…
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/ Civil Procedure, Criminal Law, Law Practice Products & Services
Something that we see over and over again in mock trials has now occurred in an actual trial. A recent jury in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania entered a defense verdict in favor of Johnson & Johnson, answering “No” to the…
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/ Civil Procedure, Civil Remedies, Products Liability
Government regulators can often play a role in civil litigation. In some cases, they’re involved as parties. More often, however, their role is as a proxy. In those situations, jurors might look at whether the defendant followed…
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/ Civil Procedure, Environmental Law, Toxic Torts
There is a case currently playing out in the Southern District of New York, Major League Baseball Players Inc.,v. Underdog Sports, Inc. There is a common dynamic called out right there in the caption: One side is the “Major…
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/ Art, Entertainment, & Sports Law, Civil Procedure, Law Firm Marketing
Early on in the jury selection process, the judge will often ask the panel, “We all know that jury duty can be inconvenient, but who believes they would experience an unreasonable hardship by serving in this case?” Hands will…
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/ Civil Procedure, Law Practice Products & Services
Here’s a scenario we often see when watching deliberations in a mock trial: The subject of the defendant’s alternate damages number comes up, and jurors see it as a weakness..…
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/ Civil Procedure, Law Practice Products & Services
