Have you ever had an opponent attempt to back-out of a stipulation? This post on the Federal Evidence Review blog tells us about a new case on the subject and gathers other cases on point. The post explains that "after a stipulation is freely entered, the courts will view with…
Burchfield v. CSX Transp., Inc. , __ F.3d __ (11th Cir. March 30, 2011) (No. 09–15417), is a interesting decision that addresses the issue of the admissibility of videos made by third parties. The plaintiff objected to the defendant’s use of the video and maintained that it depicted a recreation…
A recent opinion from the Alabama Supreme Court reminds us that many things – even obscure things – can cause a reversal of jury verdict. In Ford Motor Co. v. Duckett, No. 1090833, (Ala. 2/11/2011) a unanimous Alabama Supreme Court reversed a multi-million dollar verdict in favor of a…
Yesterday I shared data on auto negligence cases from Shannon Ragland’s Tennessee Jury Verdict Reporter Year in Review 2010. You can order your own copy of the publication here. Here is some other data of interest: There were 33 medical malpractice jury trials in the covered one-year period. The patient…
Shannon Ragland from Louisville, KY has a company called Jury Verdict Publications. Shannon gathers jury verdict data in several states and publishes a monthly report for each state. He also publishes an annual review for each state, which includes all of the jury verdicts for the prior year and analyzes…
The Oregon Supreme Court has ordered a new trial in a case where defense counsel’s closing argument included a discussion of the testimony of an expert who never testified at trial. The majority and dissenting opinions collect law from across the country on this issue and provide a gold mine…
Once again, I feel compelled to share the good work of Elliott Wilcox at Winning Trial Advocacy Tips. Elliott reminds us that we lose the power of an effective cross-examination when we convene with co-counsel and the end of good cross. He offers this tip: To take advantage of recency during…
The Internet provides all of us easy access to information, and it is no surprise to anyone that jurors are going there to get data during trials. This article from MSN reveals that "Reuters Legal, using data from the Westlaw online research service, a Thomson Reuters business, compiled a tally…
Here is yet another example of an error in calculations by a jury that resulted in a less-than-intended verdict. According to jury verdict expert Shannon Ragland this is a frequent occurrence. How do you protect your client from a similar result? First, make sure the jury understands that…
Winning Trial Advocacy Tips is the best trial advocacy blog on the web. Click here to read a recent post from the blog on tips for opening statements. An excerpt: In the courtroom, you probably talk in the past tense during opening statements and direct examination because you’re describing events…