It is always interesting when politicians are charged criminally. Of note, perceptions of politicians are on par with perceptions of lawyers: not very high. Remember Michael Grimm from New York’s 13th congressional district who threatened to throw a reporter off the Capitol Rotunda? He was since charged by federal authorities with 20 counts of fraud, federal tax evasion, and perjury. He initially denied everything but ultimately pleaded guilty to a

One of the first things that often goes through someone’s mind when they are summoned for jury duty is “how do I get out of this?” The time commitment, money lost or not earned, and a generalized lack of interest are the main reasons for such an initial reaction. However, what I have found over the years is that serving on a jury, as reported by jurors in post-trial interviews,

There seems to be a consensus that if James Holmes, the Colorado shooter, is sentenced to death it will be a long long time before he is actually executed. This perception overlooks exactly what it is that results in the long periods between sentence and execution in death penalty cases. I realize there are some quirks with Colorado procedure but there are also some (and by some I mean a

As the Colorado theater shooting trial comes to a close, all eyes will be on the jury as it sets out to determine whether James Holmes was legally sane three years ago when he set off tear gas grenades and shot into the audience with multiple firearms killing 12 people and injuring 70 others. The Judge has been contemplating what to tell the lawyers and jurors about talking to the

Two ex-football players were convicted of multiple counts of aggravated rape and sexual battery after a jury took just 2 hours to reach a verdict. During Q&A with some jurors after the verdict, it became apparent that video of the actual incident was pivotal. One juror said “as soon as we saw the video we knew exactly who was guilty of what and what we were going to come back