Observing Pretrial Motions and Jury SelectionStudents in my semester-long Comprehensive Trial Advocacy course go to court, watch a day of trial and write a report about what they saw and learned. The students select from federal, state or municipal court, and they can choose either a civil or criminal share their observations. This article is [...]
Through the Jurors’ EyesI asked my law students to put themselves in the jury box and ask what they as jurors would want to see in a trial lawyer. Three students came up with this nice list of attributes worth aspiring to project:• Credibility• Compassion• Capability• Clarity• Conciseness• Conscientiousness • Charm• Charisma
The Courtroom Culture A successful trial lawyer adapts to the courtroom culture. While protocols vary somewhat from courthouse to courthouse and even courtroom to courtroom in the same courthouse, minimum standards of conduct do exist. In the following article, King County Superior Court Judge John P. Erlick provides concrete advice concerning those standards. His advice [...]
Jury Selection Booklet by Karen KoehlerStumbled across this gem of an 85-page booklet on jury selection, and it’s free. It is published on the website of the plaintiffs’ personal injury law firm of Stritmatter Kessler Whelan Coluccio. The booklet, Voir Dire (December 2010), was written by Karen Koehler (pictured to right), known to some of [...]
Superior Court Judge Timothy Bradshaw’s Web SiteBefore going to trial, a trial lawyer wants to get to know what the judge likes and dislikes. This can be a challenge because procedures and customs vary from courthouse to courthouse and courtroom to courtroom in the same courthouse. Judge Timothy Bradshaw, of King County Superior Court, informs [...]
Juror Infuriated by Prolonged Cross-ExaminationWhat happened earlier this month in a Brooklyn courtroom is a reminder that trial lawyers must be ever mindful of the effects of what they do on their audience – the jury.The New York Times reported that a juror in a Brooklyn court could take it no longer after having sat [...]
