4 More Myths About Juries
My recent post, Is There a Perception Problem with the American Jury System?, busted the most common myth about jury duty: that everybody hates it. In this blog post, I’d like to bust four additional myths about juries and jurors, all of which attempt to degrade the reputation of American jurors, and the justice system in... Read More
The Benefits (and Occasional Perils) of Using Statistics in Trial
A few weeks ago, one of my #TrialTwitter friends asked whether anyone had experience with using statistics in opening statement. It prompted an interesting conversation, but there’s only so much one can share in a 140-character tweet. Hence, this blog post. Are statistics ever appropriate for opening statement, witness testimony, a hearing, or even an... Read More
Is There a Perception Problem with the American Jury System?
If you search for “jury duty” on social media, you’re likely to find more than a few posts of people whining about it. The litany goes like this: it’s boring, the pay is terrible, the room smells like feet and old cheese – it never ends. While most folks aren’t too keen on the disruption to their daily routine, the vast... Read More
Getting a Bigger Bang for Your Litigation Buck
Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to work on hundreds of legal matters. From my perch as a jury and trial strategy consultant, I’ve seen great lawyering and not-so-great lawyering, and I’ve seen legal teams that operate efficiently and teams that operated wastefully. My client and friend Charlie Armstrong, vice president and assistant general... Read More
Learning About Your Jury from Facebook Likes
If you’re a trial lawyer preparing for jury selection, it’s likely that the majority of your potential jurors will have a Facebook account. Facebook allows users to “like” just about anything. Musicians. Authors. Television shows. Actors. Books. Politicians. Restaurants. Nonprofit organizations. Political groups. You name it. And these simple “likes” can provide a wealth of information on... Read More
Googling Your Jury (Part 2)
Trial teams around the country scour the internet for “jury nuggets.” And many — dare I say most — courts have accepted this practice. Our last blog post addressed ethical and professional standards that (should) guide any internet sleuthing, and Ben Hancock with The Recorder (ALM) recently published a fantastic article on some of the... Read More
Googling Your Jury (Part 1)
Let’s be honest: don’t we all want to know as much as humanly possible when evaluating a jury pool and determining motions for cause and peremptory strikes? I dare say the answer is a resounding, “Hell, yes!” The Internet provides a treasure trove of information about pretty much anything we can imagine… including potential jurors.... Read More
This Jury Did Their City, and the Justice System, Proud
I don’t know this jury, but I love this jury. My awe has nothing to do with their verdict. It has everything to do with their conduct. Last week, I read an article about a criminal trial involving a Cleveland woman accused of intentionally backing her SUV into her husband (and then putting the car in drive and running over him again,... Read More
Do You Need a Mock Trial or a Focus Group?
When discussing pretrial jury research, people often use “Focus Group” and “Mock Trial” interchangeably. Although the two are similar, there are a few key differences. This infographic can help: Focus Groups and Mock Trials are not (or should not be) a one-size-fits-all service. Here are two examples of ways they can be tweaked to meet... Read More
5 Tips for Complying with EDTX Standing Orders on Jury Research
Our last post addressed the standing orders in the Eastern District of Texas pertaining to jury research and good-old-fashioned Googling. Some have expressed frustration; others have simply abandoned their hopes for gathering feedback or intel on prospective jurors. This post will focus on the standing orders pertaining to pretrial research. In my opinion, none of them grossly limit a... Read More