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Study: Jury pool racial makeup has effect on convictions 

Published: April 25, 2012

Tags: juries, jurors, juyr pools

A study has revealed that the racial makeup of the pool from which juries are selected influences conviction rates – and that having even one African-American member in the pool from which a jury is drawn nearly eliminates the difference.

Can the lawyers ‘script’ direct party-to-party contact? 

By: W. William Hodes
Published: April 19, 2012

Tags: "no-contact" rule, client communication

Under the rules of professional conduct, lawyers cannot communicate with opposing clients directly. However, nothing restricts opposing clients from communicating with each other, and lawyers are permitted to explain this to their own clients. But how much preparation can lawyers give their clients in these situations?

Smartphone data more important in litigation 

Published: April 19, 2012

Tags: cell phones, e-discovery, smartphones

Smartphones are increasingly becoming not just useful tools for lawyers on the go, but potentially important factors in litigation.

Trial strategy: Should you let jurors handle the evidence? 

By: Correy Stephenson
Published: April 13, 2012

Tags: evidence, jury

A recent study by the University of Notre Dame suggests that humans learn and retain information differently if their sense of touch is engaged.

Trial consultant Douglas Keene said this means that the value of touching a piece of evidence cannot be overstated.

Redefining expert witness credibility for juries

By: Richard Gabriel
Published: April 9, 2012

Tags: expert witness, expert witnesses, jury

Juries routinely dismiss expert testimony due to credibility problems, incomprehensibility, or simply because it is cancelled out by another expert’s testimony.

This leads to a number of important questions for the attorney and the expert in presenting testimony at trial. What exactly is credibility? Is an expert an advocate? How objective is an expert supposed to be?

Attorneys consider pursuing e-discovery for smaller cases 

By: Jack Zemlicka
Published: April 6, 2012

Tags: e-discovery

Sharon Nelson, left, watches fellow e-discovery lawyer Bruce Olson during their March 29 presentation on case discovery at the American Bar Association’s Techshow in Chicago. Attorneys need to be aware of potential ethical obligations, Olson and Nelson said, in considering whether to use e-discovery in small cases.

Trial lawyers find new ways to use the iPad to help try cases 

By: Sylvia Hsieh
Published: April 4, 2012

Tags: iPad, legal technology, technology

Trial lawyers keep finding new ways, some expected and others surprising, to use the iPad to settle cases, prepare for litigation and try cases.

The big change is that lawyers have moved from using the iPad purely for content consumption to putting it to work in all aspects of litigation.

Md. bill would limit number of experts at med-mal trials 

By: Steve Lash
Published: March 6, 2012

Tags: expert witnesses, Maryland, medical expert, medical malpractice

Advocates for patients and doctors in Maryland battled last week over legislation that would limit to two the number of medical experts each side would be permitted to have testify at medical malpractice trials.

Illinois courts to allow cameras in pilot project 

Published: February 1, 2012

Tags: cameras, videotape

Trial courts in Illinois will allow cameras to document proceedings as part of a pilot project that launched Jan. 24.

Prosecutors seek to check criminal history of jurors 

Published: January 27, 2012

Tags: American Civil Liberties Union, background check, Batson, juries, jurors

Prosecutors in New Jersey are asking a court for the birth dates of all potential jurors for purposes of running criminal history checks on them.