Texas lawyer extols face reading as jury selection tool

Tagged with: jury selection

In a trial-lawyer Utopia, no attorneys would ever have to deliver an opening statement in front of a jury they don't know as well as their own siblings. Instead, they'd have the time and resources to break down a jury pool as thoroughly as Bill Belichick breaks down opposing NFL defenses. But in the real world, expanding caseloads and shrinking resources dictate strict time limits on voir dire.

Tagged with: jury selection voir dire

For Ruth Holmes, a handwritten juror questionnaire is a gold mine of information. But unlike other jury consultants, Holmes, a handwriting analyst, finds her clues not in the biographical content but in the tilt of the letters, the pressure of ...

Tagged with: handwriting analysis jury selection

Gone are the days when lawyers tried to argue their case before the jury panel, hoping to convince potential jurors of the merits of their case in the first few precious moments of voir dire. The new approach to jury ...

Tagged with: juror bias jury selection

Alcoholism, social drinking, and drunk driving may be very different animals but in the public mind, the lines between them are blurred, experts tell Lawyers USA. And the results of this "media blitz" are felt in jury selection. People who used to freely say they had a couple of beers at a bar before getting behind the wheel are increasingly reluctant to admit to driving after drinking anything at all. This social disapproval of drinking and driving means that DUI cases, a "crime of degree" that affects more adults in America than any other, are increasingly tough for defense attorneys to win.

Tagged with: drunk driving DUI jury selection