Finding The Best – And Avoiding The Worst – Jurors For White Collar Criminal Cases

June 28th, 2017|

Defending White Collar Criminal Cases Defending an allegation of white collar crime is replete with challenges.  Some arise from the evidence: for example, badly timed calls and trades in insider trading cases, emails that are suggestive of wrongdoing when taken out of context, and accounting practices that seem suspicious to those unfamiliar with the vagaries of GAAP rules. And then, there are the jurors: a dozen or so people who bring to the case their own life experiences and too often, their own assumptions about corporate executives, those who work in finance, or just “the rich.”  Certainly, life experience is

Innovating For Wise Juries: Juror-Posed Questions

June 22nd, 2017|

Stephen Susman In a series of articles on Law 360, Steve Susman, Richard Lorren Jolly and DOAR Jury Consultant Roy Futterman provide the Civil Jury Project’s proposed innovations for improved jury trials:     This is the fourth in our series of articles on the Civil Jury Project’s proposed innovations that can resuscitate the American jury trial. Each week we offer a summary of a different innovation, the legal support for its use, and empirical studies on its popularity. Each innovation has been proposed by academics and practitioners, implemented by state and federal judges, and is not prohibited in most jurisdictions. Most importantly, each innovation

Wisconsin v. Loomis: The Continuing Saga Of John Henry v. the Steam-Powered Hammer?

June 16th, 2017|

Wisconsin v. Loomis:  The Continuing Saga Of John Henry v. the Steam-Powered Hammer? by Julie Blackman, Ph.D. John Henry was an African American folk hero and a “steel-driving man.”  He hammered steel drills into rock to make holes for explosives that cleared the way for railroad tunnels.  According to legend and song, he competed in a race against a steam-powered hammer.  He won the race but died with his hammer in his hand.  The stress of his exertion stilled his heart. While attention to the role of artificial intelligence in courtroom decision-making is new, the value-laden competition between humans and

Innovating For Wise Juries: Preliminary Instructions

June 14th, 2017|

Stephen Susman In a series of articles on Law 360, Steve Susman, Richard Lorren Jolly and DOAR Jury Consultant Roy Futterman provide the Civil Jury Project’s proposed innovations for improved jury trials:     This is the third in our series of articles on the Civil Jury Project’s proposed innovations that can resuscitate the American jury trial. Each week we offer a summary of a different innovation, the legal support for its use, and empirical studies on its popularity. Each innovation has been proposed by academics and practitioners, implemented by state and federal judges, and is not prohibited in most jurisdictions. Most importantly, each innovation

Innovating For Wise Juries: Setting Trial Time Limits

June 7th, 2017|

Stephen Susman In a new series on Law 360, Steve Susman, Richard Lorren Jolly and DOAR Jury Consultant Roy Futterman provide the Civil Jury Project’s proposed innovations for improved jury trials:       This is the second in our series of articles on the Civil Jury Project’s proposed innovations that can resuscitate the American jury trial. Each week we offer a summary of a different innovation, the legal support for its use, and empirical studies on its popularity. Each innovation has been proposed by academics and practitioners, implemented by state and federal judges, and is not prohibited in most jurisdictions. Most importantly, each innovation

The Return Of Attorney-Conducted Voir Dire

June 1st, 2017|

Stephen Susman In a new series on Law 360, Steve Susman, Richard Jolly and DOAR Jury Consultant Roy Futterman provide the Civil Jury Project’s proposed innovations for improved jury trials:       Voir dire has been the main method for selecting jurors in this country since the founding. Lawyers historically handled this process, but over the last few decades federal judges have taken near complete control over jury selection. This is a problem. The Civil Jury Project at New York University School of Law has been monitoring this issue as part of its overall mission to support and reinvigorate the power of juries in

Talking Bull, Episode Twenty Three, A Real Jury Consultant Watches a Fictional One

May 24th, 2017|

Roy Futterman, Ph.D. In the twenty third and final installment of his weekly column in Law360, DOAR’s real-life New York City Jury Consultant and Psychologist reviews the fictional NYC Jury Consultant/Psychologist on the television series “Bull,” focusing on what litigation is really like in the trenches. [Spoiler Alert]…       In a fitting end to the season, Bull provides us with a confusing, nonsensical, yet entertaining season finale. The Case of the Loving Siblings The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency raids a house during a boy’s birthday party and finds a stockpile of heroin under the porch. Mom is arrested,

Talking Bull, Episode Twenty Two, A Real Jury Consultant Watches a Fictional One

May 17th, 2017|

Roy Futterman, Ph.D. In the twenty second edition of his weekly column in Law360, DOAR’s real-life New York City Jury Consultant and Psychologist reviews the fictional NYC Jury Consultant/Psychologist on the television series “Bull,” focusing on what litigation is really like in the trenches. [Spoiler Alert]…         After a full season of ethically challenged behavior, Bull and his team spend an episode pondering the morality behind what they do. Why, this should be the most intriguing hour of television since — nope, then they stalk, bug and arrest their own client. The Case of the Unsavory Client

Talking Bull, Episode Twenty One, A Real Jury Consultant Watches a Fictional One

May 10th, 2017|

Roy Futterman, Ph.D. In the twenty first edition of his weekly column in Law360, DOAR’s real-life New York City Jury Consultant and Psychologist reviews the fictional NYC Jury Consultant/Psychologist on the television series “Bull,” focusing on what litigation is really like in the trenches. [Spoiler Alert]…       This week, in the start of a three-part season finale, either Dr. Bull gives the single most powerful consultation to an attorney ever or the whole thing was nonsense. I will explain, and you can decide. The Case of Benny, Finally Finally, Benny is charged with the crime we have been

Talking Bull, Episode Twenty, A Real Jury Consultant Watches a Fictional One

May 3rd, 2017|

Roy Futterman, Ph.D. In the twentieth edition of his weekly column in Law360, DOAR’s real-life New York City Jury Consultant and Psychologist reviews the fictional NYC Jury Consultant/Psychologist on the television series “Bull,” focusing on what litigation is really like in the trenches. [Spoiler Alert]…         This week, Bull intentionally influences his client to attempt to strangle Bull in court to prove that his client is not guilty of murder. Finally, the show reveals what we jury consultants are really like: selfless and disposable. The Case of the Manchurian Golfer In this episode, we get a little