Juries

New York Judges, Not Juries, Should Decide Whether to Pierce the Veil

New York Law Journal article by 

Brian D. Koosed

 

Anthony P. Badaracco 

 

Erica R. Iverson

 

New York Judges, Not Juries, Should Decide Whether to Pierce the Veil

The hallmark of the corporate form is its limited liability, which ensures that a judgment recovered against a corporation generally cannot be enforced against its shareholders. But 'generally' is an important qualifier. When the corporate form is used to commit fraud and the corporation has no assets to satisfy a judgment, a creditor may "pierce the corporate veil" and hold otherwise immune shareholders personally liable for the corporation's debts...

Abolish Peremptory Challenges: LA Times Op-ed

The case involving the removal of a juror because of his sexual orientation (Smithkline Beecham Corporation v. Abbott Laboratories), which is currently before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, has raised two interesting questions.  The first is whether or not the U.S. should follow in the footsteps of England and abolish the peremptory challenge.  Assuming the answer to the first question is no, the next question is whether Batson which prohibits exercising peremptory challenges based on race should be extended to cover sexual orientation.  Batson has already been extended to cover gender and a few states have taken it upon themselves to prohibit exercising peremptory challenges based on sexual orientation.  Some are predicting that regardless of the outcome of Abbott Laboratories it will go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The LA Times editorial board has used this case to once again call for the abolishment of the peremptory challenge.  According to the paper, which has long favored getting rid of peremptory challenges,

even if the Batson ruling were extended to cover sexual orientation, it would still be easy for lawyers to disguise their true motives for peremptory challenges.

To read the article in its entirety go here.

A Jury of Whose Peers?: NY Times Op-Ed

The former NY Times Executive Editor, Bill Keller, has written an excellent op-ed entitled  A Jury of Whose Peers?  In the article, the author laments the decline of jury trials in this country.  However, he also makes note of the fact that juries are becoming increasingly more inclusive of society as a whole.  The author makes specific reference to the proposed California legislation that allows non-citizens to serve as jurors.  Finally, the article offers one of the best descriptions that I have read about jury duty ("the most stunning and successful experiment in direct popular sovereignty in all history").

 

Role of the Jury in the George Zimmerman Trial

The Atlantic magazine has an article by Professor Ferguson examining the role of the jury in the George Zimmerman trial.  As most are aware, George Zimmerman is on trial for the death of Trayvon Martin.  Prior posts about this case can be found here and here.  Professor Ferguson, who has previously published articles on juries, writes that:

Many times it is just not possible to find out what really happened. That's why we have juries. In fact, while emotionally unsatisfying, the burdens of proof are supposed to lessen the burden of judgment for jurors. Instead of being weighted with the sometimes-impossible task of figuring out what really happened, jurors are asked only to measure the evidence produced against the standard of proof...

To read the article in full go here.