Are Jurors Ignoring Your Exhibits?
I was so proud of myself the first time I successfully introduced an exhibit into evidence. But, as you know, pride goes before a fall… I’d only been out of law school for a week or two and was trying my first Driving Under the Influence (DUI) case. DUI cases often involve a variety of physical and documentary evidence, and this case was no exception. I had a mugshot showing how the defendant looked when he’d been booked into the jail, a videotape of his field sobriety...
Read MoreThe Witness Forgot (again!)
We’ve previously talked about what to do when your witness temporarily forgets what they’re supposed to say (“What to Do When Your Witness Forgets”), but what can you do when your witness seems to have permanently forgotten what happened? Before we begin, let’s start with the assumption that your witness honestly has no recollection of what happened, and isn’t intentionally “forgetting.” (If your witness is trying to side-step perjury charges by saying he “doesn’t...
Read MoreThe Danger of “Self Authenticating” Documents
Normally, when you’re seeking to introduce items into evidence, you need a live witness to testify and establish your evidentiary predicates. But some evidence is so trustworthy that it doesn’t require a witness. These forms of evidence are inherently reliable, and are deemed to be “self-authenticating.” Examples of self-authenticating evidence include: State and federal laws Contents of the Federal Register Laws of foreign nations Acts of Congress Court records Rules of...
Read MoreTrial Lawyers at the Scene of the Crime
It might be the back alley of a dive bar where a man was bludgeoned to death, the potato chip aisle at a local grocery store where the plaintiff claims he slipped and fell, or a tiled and antiseptic operating room where your client’s husband died during routine surgery. In each instance, regardless of whether the case is civil or criminal, the location is the same: it’s the “scene of the crime.” In your last case, how many times did you visit the “scene of the...
Read MoreDon’t Make This Rookie Trial Lawyer Mistake!
It was Bill’s first trial. Like many young lawyers, he was concerned about getting his exhibits introduced into evidence. “I took a trial advocacy class in law school,” he said, “But I don’t want to make any mistakes that will stop me from introducing my exhibits. What should I do?” To help him get ready for trial, Bill’s trial partner encouraged him to look through a book on evidentiary predicates, write out his predicate questions word-for-word, and invest a...
Read MoreResources for Trial Lawyers
