Juries

Latest Edition of the Jury Expert

The Jury Expert is the publication of the ASTC. Each issue delivers perspectives and research related to the Art and Science of Litigation Advocacy.

 

A Necessary Evil: Edward Tufte and Making the Best of PowerPoint
by Jason Barnes & Brian Patterson

When Your Life is on the Line, Be a Victim, Not a Hero
by Kurt Gray & Chelsea Schein with comments from Julie Blackman, Beth Foley & Kathy Kellermann

Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been, Crazy: Questions about Mental Health for Supplemental Juror Questionnaires
by Diane Wiley

Generation X members are "active, balanced and happy." Seriously?
by Doug Keene & Rita Handrich

Things To Know About Being Interviewed on TV
by Elaine Lewis

The Jury Expert Favorite Thing for November, 2011

Book Review: Evaluation for Personal Injury Claims
by Wendy Saxon

Using Online Surveys to Conduct Jury Research
by Brian Edelman

Scotland's 'Not Proven' Verdict

Scotsman: Siggi Bennett: Not proven? A non-verdict that leaves me nonplussed

STV.TV: Justice secretary is 'open minded' about future of not proven verdict

Gingrich: Juries Should Decide Which Illegal Aliens Stay

Despite disagreeing with most of his proposals, I have to acknowledge that the former Speaker of House, Newt Gingrich takes a very unique approach to tackling some of the more vexing issues of our time.  First he spoke out against Child Labor laws now he is suggesting that citizen juries (similar to draft boards) be allowed to decide whether an illegal alien can stay in this country.

Washington Post (blog): Gingrich: Citizen juries should decide which illegal immigrants stay or go

 

Jury News

WSLS: Lynchburg struggles to fill jury box

San Jose Mercury News: Santa Clara County experiencing surprising spike in deadlocked ...

‎NY Times: Prosecution Explains Jury Tampering Charge

‎KPLU: Jurors and smart phones, a troubling mix for courtroom judges

‎RAPSI: New York Attorney Office refuses to reconsider jury's verdict in ...‎

WBTV:  Hembree juror shares insight into deliberations

‎Washington Post (blog): Juror No. 12 recounts deliberations in Currie case

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Jurors with Felony Convictions (Update)

Here is an update on an earlier post about the juror in the William Cellini extortion trial who failed to disclose that she had prior felony convictions. The judge handling the case has ordered an evidentiary hearing for Dec. 1st. The judge in his four page ruling pointed out however that the verdict will not be overturned just because the juror failed to disclose her prior record. 

"When a felon slips through the juror screening process, does that felon's service on the jury lead to automatic mistrial? Every federal court of appeal that has addressed this issue has answered 'no'"

The judge went on to state that the defendant must show that the juror held an actual bias.  According to the judge, "[i]t is the defendant's burden to cast sufficient doubt on the juror's impartiality."

Chicago Sun Times: Judge: Cellini juror's undisclosed past might not mean a mistrial

WBEZ: Judge wants to know more about Cellini juror

 

Juror's Suicide Threat Leads to Mistrial

The Republic: Juror's suicide threat in San Antonio trial of woman accused in ...

ABA Journal: Holdout Juror's Suicide Threat Results in Mistrial for Mom Accused ...‎

KENS5TV: Juror's comments prompt judge to declare mistrial for Ng‎

Cases Involving Blogging/Tweeting Jurors Reach State High Courts

Last week the Arkansas Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the capital conviction of Erickson Dimas-Martinez. Mr. Dimas-Martinez was convicted of robbing and shooting a teenager after a party. Lawyers for Mr. Dimas-Martinez are trying to overturn his conviction based on a tweeting juror that the judge would not dismiss from the case.  In arguing to maintain the verdict, the government states that the tweets in question were not about the deliberations but rather involved only the juror's feelings.

For more information on this story see below:

KHBS-KHOG: Lawyer: Murder Conviction Should Be Tossed Due To Tweets‎

Wall Street Journal Blog: Juror Tweets at Issue in Arkansas Murder Case‎

Arkansas News: Lawyer: Tweeting, sleeping by jurors cause to overturn murder ...‎

A similar issue has arisen in Illinois where the defendants in Eskew v. Burlington and Northern Santa Fe Railroad Company are appealing to the Illinois Supreme Court.  This case arose from a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the widow of a blind man who was struck and killed by a train outside of Chicago.  The defendants are attempting to reverse the $4.5 million verdict against them based on the fact that a juror made blog posts to her blog the Green Room during the trial. 

I predict that those seeking to overturn their verdicts will face an uphill battle.  At best, I think these appellants should hope for an evidentiary hearing allowing them to voir dire the jury about the blog posts. For the most part courts have been hesitant to overturn verdicts based on jurors who blog (see e.g., Goupil v. Cattell) absent a strong showing that: (1) the juror discussed details of the trial; (2) the juror demonstrated a pre-trial bias; (3) other jurors read the blog; (4) the posts revealed that the juror was considering facts not in evidence; or (5) a third party contacted the juror about her comments.

 

 

Comparative Jury Systems: Law Review Symposium

Symposium on Comparative Jury Systems.  Forweword by Judge Brian Barker, Instroduction by Nancy S. Marder, Articles by David Tait, Reginal Shuller, Neil Vidmar, Nancy S. Marder, Mar Jimeno-Bulnes, Stephen C. Thalman, Nikolai Kovalev, Valerie P. Hans, Claire M. Germain, Stefan Machura, Hiroshi Fukurai adn Maira Ines Bergoglio. 86 Chi-Kent L. Rev. 449 (2011).

Excerpt:  The jury is experiencing a renaissance worldwide. Countries that have never had a jury system, or have had one in the past, have turned to citizens to decide criminal cases. Countries, especially those that aspire to be more democratic, have begun to recognize the importance of having ordinary citizens participate in the criminal justice system. Meanwhile, countries with a longstanding jury tradition continue to maintain that tradition. As some countries consider how best to introduce the jury, or some variation of it such as a mixed court of laypersons and professional judges,  and other countries consider how best to improve their jury system, it is essential for jury scholars to share their ideas and observations. This symposium on "Comparative Jury Systems" brings together jury scholars' writings about their own or other jury systems so that the knowledge of different jury practices appears in one place and can generate new ideas about how one country's jury practices might lead to new practices in another country's jury system.

 

Racist Jurors and Post Verdict Evidence of Juror Bias: New Law Review Article

Jessica L. West, 12 Racist Men: Post Verdict Evidence of Juror Bias, 27 HARV. J. RACIAL & ETHNIC JUST. 165 (2011)

Abstract: This article argues that the expansion of these mechanisms, including more diverse jury venires, more robust and effective juror voir dire, less discretion for parties to remove jurors on the basis of race, and the development of jury admonitions directly addressing bias, will reduce juror expressions of bias during deliberations. Even with these reforms, however, not all juror bias will be disclosed and, whether for reasons of embarrassment, inattention or intent, some jurors will misrepresent material biases during voir dire. To address juror misrepresentations during voir dire, the article proposes a narrow exception to Rule 606(b) permitting inquiry into juror bias for the purpose of showing juror misrepresentation. The article’s unique approach of combining enhanced pre-trial and trial mechanisms with a narrow exception to the rule to address juror misrepresentations strikes a balance between upholding the goals underlying Rule 606(b) and the right to a fair trial by an impartial jury.

Jury News

AP: Ex-prosecutor knocks Casey Anthony lawyer, jurors

Bloomberg: Daugerdas Judge Grants Hearing on Juror's Conduct in Tax-Shelter Case

‎NBC Chicago:Metra Takes Blogging Juror Case to Supreme Court

‎The Republic: Man accused of offering to pay juror $2500 for acquittal vote in ...

Patch.com: Judge: Juror Dismissal Not Race Related‎