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Law students spend years training to evaluate details and learn procedures that don’t always fall under the umbrella of common sense to laypersons. The most important issues that seem obvious to attorneys can be ignored by...more
As the historic first (but not last) criminal trial of a former U.S. President was kicking off last week, Mr. Trump commented, “Jury selection is largely luck,” before moving on to his more familiar complaints about the...more
In Florida, Georgia, New York, and Washington DC, Donald Trump is facing the looming prospect of jury trials. While the word is overused these days, it is truly unprecedented for a once and maybe-future President to be facing...more
Recent years’ events have inspired experiential and attitudinal changes among jurors across the board. The 2016 presidential election and the COVID-19 pandemic fostered a shift in attitudes about corporations, governmental...more
Anecdotally, I have seen it in a few recent cases: The deposition witness isn’t asked an open-ended question and isn’t given a “Yes or No” either. Instead, they are given a range of options, like you would see in an attitude...more
Before a recent jury selection, I was digging through a stack of juror questionnaires and social media results when something we’ve been seeing for awhile came into clearer view: The conservatives in the pool were falling...more
The setting of an in-court oral voir dire can be seen as a “perfect storm” of information. Data about your panel and your potential future fact-finders is coming at you from all directions. You may have responses from a...more
I came across a recent article in the publication Raw Story with the intriguing title, “There’s a big problem in opinion polling that mainstream media is missing” by Matt Robison. While not an academic piece, the article does...more
Every jury selection involves a variety of issues relating to how potential jurors could feel about the specific case. But there is one issue that is relevant in every current jury selection for an in-person trial: What is...more
Arizona may not be the model when it comes to partisan post-election audits. But when it comes to online or virtual trials, the “Cyber Ninjas” in that context seem to be doing much better. In the Grand Canyon state’s most...more
In the early preparation for a jury selection, I will often ask the team if there are plans for a supplemental juror questionnaire. Sometimes the answer is that there aren’t any such plans, and they haven’t really thought of...more
In the lead-up to trial, a good trial lawyer has many checklists. Some deal with motions to the court. Some deal with disclosure deadlines, some with witness notifications. In this article, I would like to address the broader...more
During the ongoing pandemic, courts have been understandably reluctant to invite large numbers into their chambers for trial, and particularly for jury selection. That situation has driven renewed consideration of...more
There is one question that is particularly important in the context of current high-profile jury trials in the midst of the continuing pandemic, but the question really applies to all trials: Why would we gather large numbers...more
What do your potential jurors think about the necessity to follow the law at all times? While it won’t apply in all cases, it will apply to many. Recent protests against police brutality across the country have led to scores...more
When Trump associate Roger Stone was sentenced last month for obstruction of Congress and witness tampering, there was some pushback from media, Stone’s legal team, and the President himself targeting the jury’s foreperson, a...more
Harvey Weinstein goes to trial this week. Out of approximately eighty women accusing the former Hollywood mogul of sexual misconduct over the past few decades, two assault cases will be heard by a jury this week in Manhattan....more
As I’ve written before, it is never safe to trust a potential juror’s own opinion about whether they are biased or not. That is because there has never been much support in the social science for that ability to...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
When your trial-bound case faces complexity, possible juror bias, or potential juror hardships — which is to say, when you have a trial-bound case — you could benefit from a supplemental juror questionnaire, particularly when...more