How do you get computer-generated business records admitted into evidence? The same way you get other business records admitted into evidence, according to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In U-Haul Intern., Inc. v. Lumbermens Mut. Cas. Co., _ F.3d _ (9th Cir. Aug. 12, 2009) (No. 07-16187) affirmed a district…
A post from the Mass Tort Defense blog highlights a real problem: jurors conducting independent research during trials. Indeed, in the case featured in the post, the juror conducted the research before the trial (after he received his summons to serve as a juror) but shared what he knew during…
The Tennessee Supreme Court has asked for public comment on proposed changes to the rules of procedure and evidence. The Order asking for public comment can be viewed here. I serve on the Court’s Advisory Commission on the Rules of Practice and Procedure and I am happy to report…
The trial of virtually every personal injury or wrongful death case involves the use of one or more photographs. The recent decision in Zerega Ave. Realty Corp. v. Hornbeck Offshore Transp., LLC, __ F.3d __ (2d Cir. July 6, 2009) (No. 08-0639-CV) reminds us that the failure to lay a…
You read the title correctly. Apparently Bill Bone in Florida believes that his adversary "wears shoes with holes in the soles when he is in trial." He believed that defense counsel did so "as a ruse to impress the jury and make them believe that [his adversary] is humble and simple…
Georgia has a pattern jury instruction called the "hindsight" instruction. It provides as follows: In a medical malpractice action, a defendant cannot be found negligent on the basis of an assessment of a patient’s condition that only later, in hindsight, proves to be incorrect as long as the initial assessment…
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has reversed a $2.4 million jury verdict for the plaintiff because of misconduct by plaintiff’s counsel during closing argument. In the words of the Court: "We are compelled to reverse and remand for a new trial because of pervasive and…
Paul Luvera does it again, this time with a nice post on conducting direct examinations on his blog. Plaintiff Trial Lawyer Tips An excerpt: Evidence is like an iceberg. The bottom below the surface may be enormous, but only the tip is can be seen above the water line. That’s how…
What is the standard to be applied when a judge faces a recusal motion? The Tennessee Supreme Court answered that question yesterday in Bean v. Bailey, No. E2007-02540-SC-S10-CV (Tenn. Mar. 26, 2009). Here is the standard: a recusal motion should be granted when “the judge has any doubt as to…
Paul Luvera has written an interesting post on neuro linguistic programming. Those of you who have studied concepts such as mirroring and anchoring have explored some of the concepts that make up this field as applied to our craft. The Oxford English Dictionary defines NLP as "a model of interpersonal communication…