Innovative Jury Strategies and the Power of Preparation — FCRA Focus Podcast
Effective Trial Language Part 3: Jargon
Podcast - Effective Trial Language Part 1: Noise
Key Lessons and Takeaways for Jury Trials
How Safetyism Is Driving High Plaintiff Verdicts - IMS Insights Podcast Episode 68
Overcoming Safetyism & the Plaintiff Media Machine - IMS Insights Podcast Epsiode 66
Podcast - The “Five P’s” That Will Help Shape Jurors’ Emotions
Jury Selection Strategy in Product Liability Litigation – IMS Insights Podcast Episode 64
The Value of Visual Storytelling & Early Jury Research – IMS Insights Podcast Episode 57
How Voir Dire Fits with Appellate Practice | Robert Swafford | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Law Brief®: Trial by Jury - With Richard Lomuscio and Richard Schoenstein
It has become more commonplace to hear talk about a future of litigation without peremptory strikes. After all, Arizona in 2022 was the first state to eliminate strikes in all cases, and it may not be the last. California and...more
The holding in Batson v. Kentucky, 479 U.S. 79 (1986), that racial discrimination has no place in jury selection, continues to generate caselaw. As noted in a prior blog post, the Supreme Court of North Carolina had never...more
On August 30, 2021, the Arizona Supreme Court instituted a landmark rule change that made Arizona the first state in the country to abolish the use of peremptory challenges in criminal and civil trials. Challenges to...more
Jury selection in California is undergoing significant change. In August 2020, the California legislature passed AB 3070, which was signed by Governor Gavin Newsome on September 30. Beginning in 2022, objections to peremptory...more
We tend to think of “bias” as it applies to juries, but courts can have their own deep-seated practices. For example, judges will often prefer voir dire questions that focus on the juror’s own assessment of the influence of a...more
The Florida Supreme Court recently reminded us of an adage of trial practice: Do not depend on a perceived mistake by the trial court to preserve an issue for appeal. A lawyer must fulfill his or her obligation to spell out...more
Okay, my title is purposefully provocative, but it is not an exaggeration. Based on a recently released, first-of-its-kind, comprehensive study on the effectiveness of voir dire following common practices in civil trials...more
Practicing law at a socially appropriate distance has forced many litigators to broadly consider the value of face-to-face interaction—and what may be lost in its absence. A recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court opinion...more
The trial consulting field seems to fly mostly under the radar. As a part of the attorney’s confidential work product, our role in conducting research, preparing witnesses, and helping to advise on jury selection is not...more
Let’s say you want to know something from your prospective juror: “Do you tend to think that corporations are basically dishonest, or not?” You get a chance to talk to them in court during oral voir dire, or even better, you...more
In United States v. Altareb, 17-1717, the Second Circuit (Sack, Parker, Chin) issued a summary order affirming a conviction for, inter alia, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and bulk cash smuggling. ...more
How do you spot a racist? Or, to be more on point, in a legal case about racial discrimination, or another case where racial biases would matter to the assessment of the case, the parties, or the witnesses, how do you...more
It is unacceptable for someone to be the wrong color or the wrong ethnicity to serve on a jury. In modern times, the law says race-based exclusions can’t happen. But the practical reality in the courtroom, particularly some...more
On May 23, 2016, the United States Supreme Court decided Foster v. Chatman, No. 14-8349, holding that it was clearly erroneous for a state habeas court to decide that a criminal defendant failed to show purposeful...more
Preserving error during voir dire can be tricky. In jurisdictions like Florida, certain steps must be taken to preserve objections, including those related to pretextual peremptory challenges. On March 18, Florida’s...more
On March 18, Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal issued a decision discussing, in some detail, the actions that must be taken during jury selection to preserve an objection to a peremptory challenge that purportedly is...more