Trial

April 5, 2010

“It’s About the Jury, Stupid”

Those of you over 30 will remember James Carville’s message to the Clinton campaign in 1992: "It’s about the economy, stupid."

Well, trying cases is about persuading jurors to your client’s point of view. Sure, you must prove-each-element-of-your-cause-of-action-by-a-preponderance-of-the-evidence, but you must do so in a way that keeps the jury engaged, that motivates them to act favorably to your client.

Maxwell Kennerly, one of my favorite bloggers, has written a great post on this subject. He explains that a trial lawyer must

March 29, 2010

Luvera on David Ball’s Book

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Paul Luvera does a nice job in this post hitting the high points of David Ball’s book Ball on Damages.

An excerpt:

[W]e must shed our law school training about advocacy and learn to present cases consistent with the way that people really make decisions. You were probably taught in law school to carefully examine all of the facts and law, following which you were expected to analyze intellectually in order to arrive at the right decision. You were probably taught to speak and write as an intellectual or like a scholar might. Law students try to sound like intellectuals to impress everyone. The problem with approaching a trial in that manner is that it doesn’t work when we are talking about groups of people we call jurors..

March 3, 2010

Younger’s 10 Commandments of Cross Examination

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Some of you are a little young to remember Irving Younger, the great trial advocacy teacher. Professor Younger developed the "10 Commandments of Cross Examination" that were taught in trial advocacy programs across the country for many, many years.

Experienced trial lawyers would take issue with some of Younger’s commandments, arguing that from time to time they should be ignored. I agree, but that does not mean that they do not have value.

Here is a copy for your reading pleasure.

March 1, 2010

Tips for Managing Witnesses

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Winning Trial Advocacy Tips is one of the best blogs for trial lawyers in the entire blogosphere. Elliott Wilcox repeatedly delivers useful, timely information of interest to those of us who try cases. I encourage you to add it to your regular reading list.

Today, I share with you his post of tips to keep your witnesses happy and gain their cooperation. He is, as usual, dead-on. Ignore his advice at your peril.

An excerpt:

February 18, 2010

Federal Rules of Evidence PDF

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

The Federal Evidence Review has shared a PDF of the current federal rules of evidence. Only 40 pages in length (20 pages if you print on the front and the back of the page) this PDF is a handy addition to your trial notebook for cases in federal court.

February 10, 2010

Suggested Jury Instructions to Warn Jurors About Accessing the Internet and Social Media

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

The Blog of Legal Times advises that the Committee on Court Administration and Case Management of the United States Judicial Conference has developed pattern jury instructions "to address the increasing incidence of juror use of such devices as cellular telephones or computers to conduct research on the Internet or communicate with others about cases,” as explained by Judge Julie Robinson, committee chair, in a memo to district judges. “Such use has resulted in mistrials, exclusion of jurors, and imposition of fines.”

“The committee believes that more explicit mention in jury instructions of the various methods and modes of electronic communication and research would help jurors better understand and adhere to the scope of the prohibition against the use of these devices,” explained Robinson.

Here are the instructions:

February 9, 2010

Tennessee Jury Trials in Tort Cases by the Numbers

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

How many tort cases are tried in Tennessee in the last year? The Annual Report of the Tennessee Judiciary gives us the answer.

Here is the data for the year ended June 30, 2009:

Total jury trials in all tort cases: 260

January 20, 2010

Tip Concerning Trying Cases Away From Home

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Trial Lawyer Tips has a great post about steps to take to before picking a jury in another city, county, or state.

An excerpt:

To get familiar with my out of town trial venues, I used to order the local paper several months before trial and read it each day or week. By the time trial rolled around, I knew more about the local news than most of the jurors.

January 14, 2010

List of Themes For Use at Trial

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

The Civil Litigation Blog has shared a list of themes that can be used in personal injury trials. While there is nothing particularly original on the list, I do not recall ever seeing such a list of potential themes in one place.

January 13, 2010

Organizing for Trial

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Once again we turn to Paul Luvera for guidance on some aspect of trial practice. Paul is an extraordinary lawyer who is kind enough to share his knowledge with us on a regular basis via his Plaintiff Trial Lawyer Tips blog.

This time, Paul shares his method of organizing for trial in non-complex cases.

An excerpt: