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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
THE IMPACT OF GRAPHIC PHOTOS & EXHIBITS ON JURORS

THE IMPACT OF GRAPHIC PHOTOS & EXHIBITS ON JURORS

Dr. Bryan Edelman published an article in The Jury Expert: http://www.thejuryexpert.com/ titled “The impact of graphic injury photographs on liability verdicts and non-economic damage awards.” The issue of photographs and other exhibits often comes up when a defendant objects that the exhibits are” inflammatory and prejudicial.” FRE 403 says: “Although relevant, evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury, or by considerations of…

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WHAT SHOULD A PLAINTIFF’S LAWYER BE LIKE & WHAT IS THEIR ROLE?

WHAT SHOULD A PLAINTIFF’S LAWYER BE LIKE & WHAT IS THEIR ROLE?

Indulge me with a little freedom of thought which lacks much practical value. I’ve been thinking about today’s television compared to my childhood of radio drama which got me to thinking about  what we are supposed  to be as  plaintiff’s trial lawyers. First, I think we are supposed to be women and men who are warrior’s for justice. That brings me to the lyrics by Jim Croce: “You don’t tug on Superman’s cape you don’t spit into the wind you don’t pull the…

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THE POWER OF IMPRESSION

THE POWER OF IMPRESSION

On January 14th  the New York Times published an interesting article by Sue  Shellenbarger about appearing to be an intelligent person. I was once again struck by the fact of how powerful our impressions are and even more than our rational analysis. The article  discussed research about how people form an impression about how intelligent another person might be. It turns out things we do to  promote an impression of intelligence  may do that or they may do the opposite of what we intended. In general, things that…

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