WLJ Anne Reed News

Twittering Voir Dire

Mon, 19 May 2008 10:41:48 CDT

There’s a new kind of journalism coming from a Kansas courtroom this week.

Commitment Issues

Mon, 12 May 2008 13:59:42 CDT

Is the Fifth Circuit trying to change the way prosecutors talk to jurors?

Jury Notes From Elsewhere

Mon, 05 May 2008 13:11:04 CDT

Good things for jury watchers at other sites lately:

Eggs, Milk, Butter, And . . . Darn It.

Mon, 05 May 2008 09:18:47 CDT

New research confirms two things. First, I’m not the only one who keeps forgetting that fourth thing I need at the grocery store. And second, I probably won’t get better at remembering it. Translation for lawyers: if you need jurors to keep more than a handful of facts in working memory, you have to give them special tools.

Ready For Anything

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:19:00 CDT

In voir dire you need to be ready for anything, and anybody.

Find Jurors' Experiences At Jury Experiences

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 09:43:14 CDT

I wasn't sure about the Jury Experiences web site early on, but I've become a fan.

The Edges Of Vouching

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:55:36 CDT

One of the more enjoyable prerogatives of a blogger is to give quizzes. Today's quiz is on the improper practice of "vouching" for a witness's credibility. Here's the line you're trying to draw: it's okay in closing argument to suggest what inferences jurors should make from the evidence, but it's not okay to insert your own credibility by vouching for the credibility of a witness. The classic example of vouching is when the prosecutor says, "I've known this FBI agent for years, and I can tell you he wouldn't lie."

The $1.99 Effect

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:39:09 CDT

In civil trials, damages evidence is almost never clear to the penny. Instead, lawyers make judgment calls about the exact amount of damages to ask for. A new study suggests the decision may make more difference than you thought.

When Voir Dire Is About Politics

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 10:13:36 CDT

Federal judge Amy St. Eve of the Northern District of Illinois may be setting a record for total pages of jury questionnaires used by a single judge. She presided over Conrad Black's trial that began a year ago this week, and approved the 45-page questionnaire used there. Now she is hearing the trial of Tony Rezko, best known as a Barack Obama fundraiser but on trial for political corruption unrelated to Obama.

A Narrow, Broad Opinion In Snyder

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:16:35 CDT

Back when Snyder v. Lousiana was argued, I wondered whether the opinion might be Justice Breyer's chance "to reconsider Batson's test and the peremptory challenge system as a whole," as he has put it. The Court decided Snyder today (the opinion is here, thanks to ScotusBlog), and far from reconsidering tests and systems, Snyder is one of the most conscientiously narrow decisions you'll ever read.

What I Learned About American Juries In Japan

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:12:32 CDT

I learned a lot about Japan on my trip there -- the legal system, the Tokyo subway, the easiest way to apologize. But as I gather my thoughts about it, the first things I want to say are what I learned about my own country -- and more specifically, about American jurors -- by traveling to another place.

St Patrick's Juries

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 10:57:04 CDT

Today is St. Patrick's Day, so I thought I'd write about the jury system in Ireland. It turns out to be a complex and poignant topic.

In Which I Go To Japan

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 09:43:37 CDT

.Things have been quiet here lately, but my excuse is good. I've been in Japan, talking about juries.

Jury Duty Saves A Life

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:18:21 CDT

Sure, it’s a fundamental bulwark of liberty, the only place in our system where a few ordinary citizens can deny the power of prosecutors, judges, presidents, and legislators.

The Case Of The Troubled Jury Foreman

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 13:15:51 CST

The trial judge thought it was merely glossophobia.

A New Questionnaire, And The Impression It Makes

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 10:36:21 CST

Here's a new proposed jury questionnaire for Deliberations 's collection , from the upcoming federal corruption trial of former Orange County, California sheriff Mike Corona, his mistress, and his wife.

Juries, The Blog

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 13:10:34 CST

There's a new jury blog, a good one.

I Wish I'd Thought Of That

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:53:17 CST

Are you reading Mark Herrmann and Jim Beck's Drug and Device Law Blog? If not, you need to start, even if you plan to retire without ever touching a case about pharmaceuticals and medical devices. This week, for example, you missed two good posts about jury questionnaires.

Who Should Stay And Who Should Go?

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:00:52 CST

You're a federal prosecutor in Chicago, starting a trial against a Yale-educated, African-American consulting firm executive who used his firm's payroll software to add $68,000 to his paychecks over four months in 2000. The defendant claims he meant to pay the money back.

Catching Up On The News

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 13:11:08 CST

I've been deep in trial preparation, and thus off line, for the last week or so, and I've missed a lot. There are over a thousand stories piled up in my feed reader.