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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
DISCOVERING THE STEALTH JURORS IN YOUR CASES

DISCOVERING THE STEALTH JURORS IN YOUR CASES

As trial lawyers we know the potential for a “stealth” juror on our panels. By that, we mean a person who has a secret agenda, an axe to grind which they conceal in order to get on the jury. See for example Molly McDonough’s article in the ABA Journal Law News entitled “Rogue  Jurors” http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/rogue_jurors/ in which she cites actual trials where such jurors were discovered. Well known plaintiff lawyers Gregory Cusimano and David Wenner have written an article entitled…

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A KAFKA ENDING TO OUR TRIAL

A KAFKA ENDING TO OUR TRIAL

After two weeks the  jury trial I was involved in was ended by the judge declaring a mistrial. With over a hundred motions before trial and multiple motions during trial it finally just was stopped as a mercy killing. The judge decided that he should not have allowed evidence about the driver’s past driving and criminal history and  that as a result he felt he had to grant a mistrial. The entire experience reminded me of a Kafka novel  and and the…

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THE NEED FOR DOGGED DETERMINATION

THE NEED FOR DOGGED DETERMINATION

I’m involved in a jury trial in Seattle which presents unique challenges. I went back over my past writings for some inspiration and thought I’d select this as much for you as for me: We must have dogged determination in the face of adversity The key to achieving success for our clients lies in overcoming adversity with dogged determination. Calvin Coolidge was the  30th President of the United States. He once wrote: “Nothing in the world can take the place…

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