10 of the Stupidest Lawsuits in 2011

Crosscheck said:

Even though you have decades of experience in law the fact is often those 12 people (majority without any legal experience) sitting in the jury box will decide who pays.

I see your point about about an innnocent person as a defendent being punished. But also seeing an innocent person who was wronged to be hesitant to file charges if he might be punished financially if the jury is swept over by the defendent's smooth talking lawyer.

It is not a perfect system but probably the best possible.

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I disagree. competent counsel will readily take cases that have virtue. There are way too many lawyers chasing way too few good cases.

TurtleDude said:

plaintiffs COMMENCE lawsuits. YES, if the plaintiff fails to prove its case, the PLAINTIFF should make whole the Defendant.

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You're just dodging the topic. If you come up with a counter argument feel free to present it. No proof = no money.

TurtleDude said:

I disagree. competent counsel will readily take cases that have virtue. There are way too many lawyers chasing way too few good cases.

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But what if you have jury of people with already set agendas? No matter how much evidence and reasonings you provide it all comes down to their mindset.
An attorney doesn't need to convince the world, he just has to hit the right nerve with these 12 people.

I recently completed serving as jury foreman of a criminal jury. We did manage to find the correct verdict but it was the most frustrating endeavor in getting across to three female jurors who held out.
I had to fight back the strong desire to grab one of them and scream "what the hell are you thinking". Our first informal vote was 7-5 so if the selection of jurors had gone just a little bit differently the defendent could be free today.

I guess I must give credit to the prosecuter and defense lawyer in their jury selection as it was nearly even down the middle for and against.

If you divide the amount of time you put into a case what percent goes into the jury selection?

I don't have much use for juries in civil cases BTW.

especially in cases like Malpractice matters. theatrical experts tend to sway the ignorant.



Jury selection is important-I spend several hours reviewing the questionnaires of the potential jury. It of course depends on the case. in an employment discrimination case I favor management and small business owners as jurors.

TurtleDude said:

I don't have much use for juries in civil cases BTW.

especially in cases like Malpractice matters. theatrical experts tend to sway the ignorant.

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I half agree. There is an argument that judges aren't any better at that though. Maybe a guy who repairs dishwashers for a living is actually going to have a better time understanding how an artificial heart works than a judge who spends all day in court every day. 9 jurors means 9 times as much life experience, 9 careers to draw on, 9 perspectives... But, yeah, I do half agree. Juries do seem to be more prone to emotional manipulation.

teamosil said:

I half agree. There is an argument that judges aren't any better at that though. Maybe a guy who repairs dishwashers for a living is actually going to have a better time understanding how an artificial heart works than a judge who spends all day in court every day. 9 jurors means 9 times as much life experience, 9 careers to draw on, 9 perspectives... But, yeah, I do half agree. Juries do seem to be more prone to emotional manipulation.

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the solution i have heard thrown about involves expert jurists. say a panel of three

there is no constitutional right to juries in most federal cases. Bush I-changed the law to allow juries in employment discrimination cases against the government-a huge mistake that has cost the taxpayers billions

for cases that turn on expert testimony I recommend expert triers of fact

TurtleDude said:

the solution i have heard thrown about involves expert jurists. say a panel of three

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Yeah I like that idea a lot. If it's practical anyways without pulling in like 1/2 the doctors or something.