Fifty Shades of Zumba: Jury selection in a prostitution trial
What do a local gym, Zumba, and prostitution have in common? Apparently, a lot. The names Mark Strong, Sr. and Alexis Wright have been tickling the the ears of local Kennebunk, Maine residents for quite some time now. Strong, 57 years old, is accused of conspiring with Alexis Wright to use her Zumba fitness studio for prostitution.... Read More
Feed Your Brain, Fuel Your Focus
Remember the Wheaties commercials from your childhood? Athletes from every sport longed to see their smiling face on the Wheaties box, and many succeeded. Michael Jordan. Mary Lou Retton. Muhammad Ali. Clay Matthews. The list is long and impressive and the message was clear: be prepared for your big event. You may be wondering... Read More
Political Polls and Mock Juries :: The Sample Group Matters!
It’s been just about a month since the presidential election and I’ve finally recovered from my (somewhat manic and time-consuming) addiction to the presidential polling data. What can I say? I became a political polling junkie. I found the disparity between the various polls to be absolutely fascinating. And the talking heads? Even better. The... Read More
Bullying Foreman? Not In This Court!
Bullying. It’s a problem for our kids. It happens in the school yard, on the buses, and unfortunately, on the Internet. But what happens when there’s a bully in the deliberation room? That’s exactly what happened Friday in a Nashville, Tennessee courtroom. The four-week federal trial involved criminal allegations of drug conspiracy, money laundering and possession... Read More
Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood
There are many schools of thought on how best to conduct voir dire. We obviously want to get those heartburn-inducing jurors off the panel, but the importance of getting to know jurors’ personal experiences is crucial. Sometimes, the “yes/no” questions just don’t cut the mustard. I came across a short video today on Law.com / Texas Lawyer... Read More
Debates, Depos and the Power of Video
The media continues to obsess over “who won” the veep debate last week. A huge part of the discussion has involved commentary on demeanor, style and delivery. Substance has, for the most part, taken a back seat. We’ve all encountered the witness whose transcript reads really well on paper, but not so much on video... Read More
Watch Your Tongue! Why happy-hour language can be risky in the courtroom.
Interacting with law students and new lawyers energizes me. It’s important for me to share my experiences and my knowledge of jurors with others, and recently, I’ve had the opportunity to participate as a judge in a mock voir dire law school competition, and as a faculty member in a trial skills seminar for young... Read More
Yes Virginia, Patents Tell Stories Too
Patent cases are perhaps the most challenging cases to try to a jury, especially from a Defendant’s point of view. As a Plaintiff, stories involving tales of stolen property, hard work, sweat equity, greed and Goliath taking advantage of David are usually well accepted by jurors. However, the legal defenses of non-infringement and invalidity are... Read More
Ethics, Secrets and Lies. Oh My!
Did you hear about the latest decision in the United States. v. Daugerdas matter? Daugerdas is not a new story. We wrote about it last summer in our Google Mania series. It was the largest tax fraud prosecution in U.S. history and involved allegations against attorneys. Very prominent ones. Last summer– after 22 million produced documents, and a... Read More
Sandusky: The Perfect Case for A Supplemental Jury Questionnaire
Trial began this week in the Jerry Sandusky matter, and I must admit, I’ve been following it closely. The process excites me. The allegations disturb me. The dynamics intrigue me. The media (and a number of my friends) are very concerned with the fact that a number of jurors on the panel have ties to... Read More