It’s not just plaintiffs’ attorneys who attempt to distract juries with irrelevancies. A Florida court of appeal has reversed a medical malpractice defense verdict in a case where the defense attorney made repeated reference to the plaintiff’s marijuana use—even though there was no evidence that that usage affected her injuries, treatment, or recovery. (Shaw v. Jain, No. 1D04-4178, Fla. App. Oct. 20, 2005 (via Conigliaro)).
Chronicling the high cost of our legal system
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Point of Law- "Jury rejects prosecutor's rigged game"Our own Marie Gryphon on the Bear Stearns acquittals.... […]Walter Olson
- AP poll: most favor limiting med-mal awardsA "new Associated Press poll says most Americans support curbs on medical malpractice lawsuits. The AP poll found that 54 percent favor making it harder to sue doctors and hospitals for mistakes taking care of patients, while 32 percent are... […]Walter Olson
- Around the web, November 20Moving beyond judicial elections? Chamber's Institute for Legal Reform has a new report out (PDF) on the subject of "Best Practices in Judicial Merit Selection" More: Gavel Grab. Earlier: here, here, etc. Latest from the Jury Verdict Research people:... […]Walter Olson
- Is the Bell Tolling For Philip Morris? $300M Verdict for One Former SmokerAfter getting the mammoth $145 billion judgment against it thrown out on the grounds that each member of Florida's plaintiff smoker's class had to sue separately, the suits are coming in, and the latest verdict is not good news for... […]Michael Krauss
- "Goodies for labor tucked away in health bill"There are lots of them, and they're bound to encourage more unionization among health care workers and others, according to this op-ed by A. Kevin Troutman of Fisher & Phillips for the Houston Chronicle.... […]Walter Olson
- "Jury rejects prosecutor's rigged game"
- Volokh
- NYT on Hacked Climate E-Mails Jonathan H. Adler
- Why Tradition Does Not Justify the Socratic MethodOne of the standard defenses of the Socratic method, which I criticized in my last post and here, is adherence to tradition. If American lawprofs have been using the method for decades, there must be something to it. Who are we to question the approach that worked so well for Professor Kingsfield? I am generally [...] […]Ilya Somin
- Teaching to Different Learning Styles in Law SchoolBy nature, I am a highly verbal, nonvisual person. I learn best by reading books or listening to lectures. I rarely benefit from looking at tables, charts, pictures, and the like. I’m the kind of guy who can’t drive to an unfamiliar destination without a detailed mapquest itinerary telling me exactly which turns to take; [...] […]Ilya Somin
- Missouri Court Upholds Statute Against Gun Possession While IntoxicatedMissouri v. Richard was decided earlier this week by the Missouri Supreme Court, solely on the basis of the Missouri Constitution. Missouri law, Section 571.030.1(5) punishes someone who “Possesses or discharges a firearm or projectile weapon while intoxicated.” Richard did in fact possess a loaded handgun while intoxicated (eventually to the point of u […]David Kopel
- Does Bringing A Terrorist Suspect From Gitmo to New York Confer Any More Legal Rights?One of the many interesting issues raised by the decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other terrorist suspects in New York is whether transferring them to New York gives them any additional rights that they could assert to try to stop the prosecution against them. On Wednesday, the seven GOP Senators on the [...] […]Orin Kerr
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