Every law student learns about Batson v. Kentucky, the landmark 1986 U.S. Supreme Court case that held that a prosecutor cannot strike potential jurors based on race in a criminal trial. That principle was later extended to civil litigation, with the Supreme Court saying in Edmondson v. Leesville Concrete Company that racially discriminatory criteria may […]
In-Person Vs. Virtual Trials in Times of COVID-19 COVID-19 has completely changed the way we do nearly everything in life. From going to the store to family gatherings, things are different. The effect of COVID-19 is especially salient in the court system. In the United States, our court system provides justice in both criminal and […]
Jurors’ Perceptions of the Jury Selection Process and Why It Matters The most experienced attorneys know that jury selection can make or break your case. It does not matter how much you prepare for the trial or how great your evidence may be, you can still lose a case simply because a single juror manipulated […]
Jury diversity has been an often-discussed problem in many legal cases for decades. Prior to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, jury diversity did not exist. Juries were almost entirely composed of white Christian males. Racial minorities, women, and non-Christians were never given a jury of their peers. Instead, these groups had a jury […]
Oral voir dire in federal and state courts have been known to hinder the discovery of important information about potential jurors. In federal courts, voir dire questions are limited to what you can ask, who can ask them, the time allowed for questioning, and the ability of individual juror questioning. This means that an alternative […]
Having the best voir dire questions goes a long way to ensuring higher verdicts. By employing the best voir dire questions, you reward yourself and your client with the most advantageous jury possible. The more advantageous the jury is, the better your chances of winning larger awards will be. That’s why jury selection is so […]
Should You Conduct Jury Research During a Pandemic? Yes! Many attorneys are hesitant to continue jury research during the pandemic because they worry jurors’ attitudes currently do not reflect their “normal” attitudes. This is a valid concern as we know some attitudes are more connected to social context than others and will change and often […]
Brian Panish, an award-winning Trial Lawyer, interviews another top plaintiff lawyer Keith Mitnik in this invaluable podcast about trial strategies. Mitnik explains how your Voir Dire questions are the most important part of a trial. Equally, you must make sure the jury understands the power of bias. “Even subtle bias can have a profound […]
Busting Old World Myths About Jury Selection Jury selection is the most important part of a trial! If you don’t have a completely fair and impartial jury panel, you may have already lost your case. The purpose of voir dire and the jury selection process is two-fold: To facilitate the identification and […]
Plan Your Playbook for Voir Dire and Jury Selection In preparing for voir dire and jury selection it is vitally important that you have a plan. The plan I follow I call my “playbook.” —Robert Eglet Preparing Your Playbook: Initial Steps I prepare a playbook for each and every case. It’s a very specific […]
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