A lot of effort is involved in keeping our jurors insulated from any outside influences that could affect their opinion of the case. The Court gives them instructions that jurors cannot do any independent investigation, cannot look up or research the people involed on the internet, or do any research on legal concepts. Lawyers and…
Sometimes a defendant will waive their Constitutional Right to a jury trial and agree to have the case decided by a Judge. This happens for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is a complicated legal argument, or the case could involve some highly inflamatory facts and a defendant may be concerned about a jury's reaction.…
Jury Trial 5 went right back into the arena of DUI. At 12:56am the defendant ran a stop sign at the entrance kiosk to Loafer Creek campground in Oroville. A State Parks officer attempted to pull him over but defendant did not yield, instead he continued to drive outside of the campground and onto Hwy…
Remember when I told that DUI's are where new criminal prosecutors often cut their teeth on jury trials? Jury trial #3 involved a DUI where the defendant had been pulled over for speeding, he exhibited routine objective signs of intoxication, admitted to having 1 beer with dinner, and had marginal success on the field sobriety…
Driving under the influence is one of the most common jury trials to cut your teeth on as a new prosecutor. I got my chance my second trial in. The case essentially revolved around the discovery of an abandoned vehicle in the roadway which was had major damage to the driver's side of the vehicle,…
The year was 2012. I had been a lawyer for about 6 years in the civil sector with nary a jury trial to my name. You see, what they don't tell you in law school, that jury trials in the civil sector are expensive, which means working for a small boutique law firm in rural…
3 inches off the bottom should do it! New hairdo completed; now it's time to bring on summer! I'm a firm believer that problems get solved with some fresh perspective. This is true when you are working too hard (just take a walk or run your ideas by someone else) or when you are in…
Hopelessly Devoted 