Links Kollectionn |
useful sites for trial attorneys from around the internet
Websites for Trial Attorneys
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also see JURY RESEARCH and RESOURCE LIBRARY and TRIAL BOOKS
Links useful to litigators for jury newsletters, jury research, trial advocacy blogs, trial attorney blogs, resources on juror issues and legal news.
Jury Publications Newsletters · Blogs · Research
◄ JURY BLOGS ►
ComCon's professionally recognized OJRU blog about litigation persuasion and advocacy uses social science research to provide practical answers to questions about trying cases. Topics include voir dire, juror characteristics, race, gender, deliberations, jury instructions, persuasion, witness examination, graphics, language, bias, settlement, objections, emotion, doubt, damages, judges and more.
The Red Well 
(excellent, though loads slowly)
A service of the American Society of Trial Consultants, The Red Well is a blog aggregator on litigation persuasion, and offers research, opinion and analysis on litigation communication, persuasion, advocacy and psychology relating to trial and pre-trial settings from the perspective of trial consultants. ComCon's Online Jury Research Update is a contributing blog.
Published by Thaddeus Hoffmeister, a professor at the University of Dayton School of Law, Juries focuses on legal news about jurors and juries from around the country.
Features posts on everything from forensics to impeaching witnesses to technology in court -- anything addressing the twin topics of advocacy and evidence. The Beasley School of Law, the publisher, also offers extensive free advocacy resources on their larger website (see, Home).
Advocacy Blogs and Other Resources
The Beasley School of Law also maintains an excellent list of open access advocacy and evidence blogs for anyone with an interest - judges, attorneys, students, researchers, etc. -- as part of the Law School's commitment to ensuring that scholarship imbues and enhances the skill of courtroom lawyering.
Tips from a trial attorney to help persuade jurors on openings, closings, cross-examination, direct examination and jury selection.
◄ NEWSLETTERS ABOUT JURIES ►
The Jur-E Bulletin is a weekly electronic newsletter on juries, court decisions and important jury developments published by the National Center for State Courts.
Bimonthly newsletter published by the American Society of Trial Consultants (ASTC) with articles on jurors, juries, jury selection, juror decision-making, witness preparation, and all matters related to improving litigation advocacy and understanding jury behavior.
◄ JURY RESEARCH ►
Empirical Legal Studies is a blog reporting and discussing new empirical legal scholarship and empirical claims about the law.
Research Digest is a blog published by the British Psychological Society that showcases psychological science on many topics, including juries, jurors, eyewitnesses, persuasion and a host of other topics. Just scroll down a little to the search box on the right.
In The News, written by Dr. Karen Franklin, a forensic psychologist and adjunct professor at Alliant University, focuses on the intersection of psychology and the law, offering researched-based insights on forensic psychology, criminology, the criminal justice system, and current and historic cases.
Juror Issues Misconduct · Excusal · InnovationS
◄ JUROR MISCONDUCT ►
A blog about jurors who fail to follow the judge's instructions, including doing independent Internet research, using social media (such as Facebook) to contact parties and lawyers, and blogging about the trial.
A summary of successful jury misconduct cases through 2010 is provided by The Capital Defense Network (CDN). The categories of juror misconduct covered include third party contacts, media influence, court officer influence, intoxication, juror misstatements of law, discussions of parole, dishonesty on voir dire, prejudgment, improper jury discussions, racism and national origin discrimination, jury agreements, juror experimentation and investigation, use of extra-record evidence, use of religious source material, separation of jurors, alternate jurors in jury room, sleeping jurors, and incompetent jurors.
◄ JUDGES' JUROR EXCUSAL TEST ►
Juror Challenges (url insecure, safe to continue)
Take the California training course for judges for handling hardship, cause and peremptory challenges. A free CJER Online Course by the California Center for Judicial Education and Research uses a simulation format to provide legal and tactical information about handling hardship, cause, and peremptory challenges with prospective jurors in the context of a felony trial. See how judges are trained, and check out what you would do.
◄ TRIAL INNOVATIONS ►
Reports are provided about jury trial innovations designed to help jurors understand the trial better and to improve juror comprehension, performance, and satisfaction such as question-asking, note-taking, and anonymous juries.
Attorney Resources Attorney Blogs · Legal News · Ca Info
◄ TRIAL ATTORNEY BLOGS ►
Attorney Robert W. Kelley publishes the Jury Selection Blog which reports legal news and cases about the rights of clients, trial lawyers and jurors during voir dire, and is a repository of attorney Robert W. Kelley's 30 years experience in the courtroom as it pertains to voir dire.
Educational posts covering tips for better cross-examination, examples of excellent cross-examinations, and recommended books for learning more about cross-examination.
Ellen Podgor, law professor at Stetson University College of law publishes legal news about white collar crime cases and issues on the White Collar Crime Prof Blog.
Washington attorney Paul N. Luvera offers ideas and suggestions for persuasive and effective trial advocacy to improve client representation in this blog initiated in 2007.
The Indigent Defense Research Association
Monthly posts of Notable Recent Publications offer short summaries of the latest empirical research and data related to indigent defense.
Pretrial, Trial, Appellate & Evidence Blog
Advocacy tips on everything from litigation graphics to jury selection to cross-examination to trial advocacy books.
◄ LEGAL RESEARCH AND NEWS ►
An award-winning aggregator blog providing articles and research for legal professionals, focusing especially on trial attorneys, by Celia C. Elwell, a registered paralegal. The Researching Paralegal collects helpful litigation blogs, websites, references and tools.
Collects and lists daily civil case verdicts and summaries from state and federal courts from around the country.
In-depth true crime reporting on cases and trials in the news by Sprocket & Company.
◄ CALIFORNIA INFORMATION ►
California Courts Jury Information Resource Center
Provides information about being a juror in California, and provides links to resources for attorneys that include California's civil and criminal jury instructions as well as Judicial Council of California Jury References.
AB 3070 - Changes to Peremptory Challenges
In August 2020, the California legislature passed AB 3070. Beginning in 2022, objections to peremptory challenges in criminal cases will have more teeth, including a list of presumptively invalid reasons for striking a prospective juror and a new standard of review for appellate review of a trial court’s decision. While AB 3070 does not apply officially to civil jury trials until 2026, the significant overhaul in procedure effectuated by this new law is likely to influence a court’s analysis of the civil jury selection process before that time.
Senate Bill No. 658 - Time Restrictions in Voir Dire
In 2017, Senate Bill No. 658 amended Section 222.5 of the California Code of Civil Procedure (The Trial Jury Selection and Management Act). A trial judge may not impose specific unreasonable or arbitrary time limits on, or establish an inflexible time limit policy for, voir dire. Judges must determine the reasonable time allotted for voir dire on a case-by-case basis taking into account a number of factors, and make adjustments as needed. Reasonable time must be provided to evaluate juror questionnaires.
California released a new official juror orientation video on May 4, 2022. Entitled Justice for All: Orientation to Jury Service. this juror orientation video describes the juror experience, from arrival at the courthouse through jury selection, trial, deliberations and verdict.
California Appeals Attorney Greg May blogs about practice and developments in California's appellate courts. The blog focuses on (1) substantive and procedural legal developments in the California court of Appeal and California Supreme Court, (2)proceduural law relating to the prosecution of appeals, writ petitions and post-trial motions in California state courts, (3) practical skills essential to appellate practice; and (4) occasional discussion of similar topics regarding federal appeals.
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