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Author: Paul Luvera

Luvera practiced plaintiff law 55 years. He is past President of the Inner Circle of Advocates & Washington State Trial Lawyers Association. Member ABOTA, American College of Trial Lawyers, International Academy, International Society of Barristers and the American Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame. Book Luvera on Advocacy available at Trial Guides Publishing Email paul@luvera.org
LIES & LIARS – HOW DO WE KNOW?

LIES & LIARS – HOW DO WE KNOW?

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I just returned from an Inner Circle of Advocates meeting in  Aspen where Dr. Charles A. Morgan MD, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Yale gave a talk about deception detection. He has a wide background of  experience in this area. I learned that time honoured methods for determining the truth, including the lie detector are not reliable. The whole subject of truthfulness is part of mankind’s history  The Bible tells  us Pontius Pilot asked Jesus a question which philosophers have…

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DEALING WITH “THE BLAME GAME” AT TRIAL

DEALING WITH “THE BLAME GAME” AT TRIAL

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What is the most common defense we find in our cases? It is to blame someone or something else. It might be an “empty chair” defendant or another party or more often, the plaintiff himself or herself. Dealing with evasion of personal responsibility is one of the things we need to learn to deal with in representing our clients. Let’s look at the reality of the situation. We don’t have to look very far for numerous examples of the reluctance…

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MAINTAINING ESTABLISHED SAFETY RULES & JUROR PERSUASION

MAINTAINING ESTABLISHED SAFETY RULES & JUROR PERSUASION

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We know that the brain has two hemispheres. The left hemisphere of the brain controls the right half of the body and the right hemisphere controls the left half of the body. The left part of the brain is responsible for logic. It contains the language centers, interprets patterns and is detail oriented. The right side of the brain is responsible for emotions. It searches for meaning. It is also the center for music, art and kinesthetic abilities. Many people favor…

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