As you know, some lawyers just cheat. Some are just ignorant of the law and make mistakes. But others know the law and cheat. Lawyers who are ignorant about the law need to be educated and warned. But cheaters need to be hammered. Judges who see lawyers repeatedly violate the…
The Civil Rules Commission in Tennessee has proposed to change Rule 8 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure and require a plaintiff to state an ad damnum. Under current law, a plaintiff probably must state an ad damnum at some point, except in medical negligence cases. Why do I…
A defendant in a product liability case cannot introduce proof of the absence of other claims unless strict guidelines are met, according to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The plaintiff’s lawyer “argued that there was no foundation for such testimony because [defendant’s] engineer had admitted in his deposition that…
Tennessee and a minority of other states require that all 12 jurors agree on the verdict? This article comments on the practice. I disagree with the requirement of unanimity. It imposes an unfair burden on the plaintiff, particularly in these times of massive anti-plaintiff sentiment fueled by aggressive campaigns of…
The Legislature approved the rule changes proposed by the Tennessee Supreme Court. The changes were effective on July 1, 2005. Here is a copy of the revisions. All were adopted except proposed Rule 1A; it was withdrawn by the Court. The changes to the rules of evidence are found beginning…
Any lawyer can benefit by reading a good closing argument in any case. Of course, it is better to see it live – the paper cannot capture the emotion of an argument. But if you don’t have time to sit around in courtrooms all day a transcript is the way…
Ok – this article is not about the trial of a personal injury or wrongful death case. But it is about trial. And it is about the benefits of the use of technology at trial. We have used Powerpoint in trial for over five years. We first used digital video…
Preparing for trial is, by nature, hectic. If you are not wired enough to power the Titans’ Coliseum on a night game, you are not paying enough attention. It’s helpful to have a checklist to see if all of the applicable basics are covered. This trial preparation is set out…