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Month: May 2015

THOUGHTS ABOUT AVOIDING A 15 MINUTE DEFENSE JURY VERDICT

THOUGHTS ABOUT AVOIDING A 15 MINUTE DEFENSE JURY VERDICT

The Seattle Times reports that a King County jury reached a unanimous verdict for the defendant after a seven day personal injury  trial, taking only 15 minutes to reach a verdict. Disclaimer: The only thing I know about this case is what I read in the newspaper so I am using this as an illustration and making assumptions in an effort to learn from this event. The newspaper reports that plaintiff was a 51 year old woman who sued the city…

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GIVING CREDIT TO DAVID BALL

GIVING CREDIT TO DAVID BALL

On April 18, 2015 I published an article from Don Keenan’s blog on short trials because I thought it had such a profound truth which I agreed with. Unfortunately, I gave the credit for the article to my friend Don when the author was my friend David Ball. So, I write this to correct my error and give credit to David where it belongs and my thanks to Don for publishing it. Sorry, David. Great article.

“OBJECTION! ARGUMENTATIVE” IS THAT REALLY A VALID OBJECTION DURING CROSS EXAMINTION?

“OBJECTION! ARGUMENTATIVE” IS THAT REALLY A VALID OBJECTION DURING CROSS EXAMINTION?

An  outstanding Seattle plaintiff’s trial lawyer  & I have been discussing the common objection made during cross examination that the question is “argumentative” because  of a trial we  have a common interest  in where  the  judge  sustains cross  examination questions that directly challenge the witnesses testimony as untruthful where the objection of “argumentative” is made. My position is that cross  examination is confrontational and a testing ground  for  witness credibility by challenging the witness. I believe that judges who sustain  an objection to the…

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