THE JURY CRISIS is subtitled “What’s Wrong With Jury Trials and How Can We Save Them.” Yet the value of this book is not in its assessment of anything “wrong” with jury trials but instead in its deep and rich understanding of how jurors [and judges] make decisions and what advocates can do with that
This book is aptly subtitled “A true story of injustice in the American south.” Radley Balko and Tucker Carrington take the reader to the backwaters of Mississippi and the tale of the local medical examiner who somehow conducted 3 to 4 times as many autopsies per year as any pathologist should (or even could) and
Words count. And when forensic discipline experts discuss a ‘match,’ a correspondence between crime scene evidence, words have particular impact. Words count so much that when experts use scientifically-indefensible terms or descriptions, such as “and no one else in the world has the same print,” the weight given to such proof is high. It is
The theme of this exceptionally useful book is simple but essential – as the number of trials plummets, the importance of the deposition as a tool to secure a favorable non-trial disposition increases exponentially. The TUTORIAL is the ultimate guide on how to rethink the deposition and still have it in hand if the case
In England and Wales, particular attention has been devoted to the presentation and questioning of vulnerable witnesses, usually children. This led to the development of “The 20 Principles of Questioning,” a protocol for preparing and examining such witnesses. This article assesses the 20 principles to show which are supported by science, which have inadequate research
It takes a techie (and not a village) to ensure that courtroom technology works – works in terms of functionality, and works in terms of effective presentation. So it is no surprise that NITA turned to a managing director of a forensic presentation consulting firm to author a comprehensive text on trial presentation technology, software,
Jury instructions are core to the assessment of a case – although they are boring and often difficult for the lay audience (or even many layers) to understand. Across the board, there has been inadequate work done to ensure comprehensibility. This article approaches the problem from the starting point of average reading levels in the
What does it take to resolve a case successfully in a mediation process? This how-to article, from this Utah attorney who has both advocated in mediation proceedings and served as a mediator and arbitrator, is a common sense guide to lawyers whose cases will proceed via alternative dispute resolution. With the touchstones of flexibility and
Author/self-publisher Maurice Baggiano offers THE FEDERAL RULES OF EVIDENCE, DECONSTRUCTED, as a user-friendly guide/deskbook for the practicing lawyer who needs a clear and simple elocution and elaboration of the Federal Rules. The problem is that DECONSTRUCTED is too simplified and is organized in a way many lawyers might find difficult to maneuver. Let’s start with
GUEST REVIEWER: PROFESSOR SARA JACOBSON Reading the foreword to the book will ruin it too, but if you avoid that chapter, and the last paragraph of this review, with its spoilers, you’ll find WOMEN FOR THE DEFENSE an engaging, worthwhile read. The premise of the book is that noted defense attorney Andrea Lyon has