IMAGINE THIS HYPOTHETICAL SCENARIO: It’s College Football Playoff season. Your beloved [insert college mascot here, not going to jinx it for any team in particular] are in the National Championship. Your husband is somehow able to secure tickets to the big game and purchases four tickets online for you, the…
Articles Posted in jury trial
The Key to the Courthouse Door: The Critical Role of Contingency Fees in Our Civil Justice System
Often, when there has been a string of trial victories for the plaintiff, the defense bar overreacts and calls for a wholesale change in our Civil Justice System. This often includes a feigned outrage over plaintiff’s attorneys’ contingency fees, as if how a plaintiff’s attorney is paid for their success…
Mediation During the Time of Coronavirus
The global pandemic has caused many state legal systems to declare a judicial state of emergency. The state of Georgia is currently under state of emergency protocols that are set to last through August 11, 2020. When jury trials will restart in Georgia is any one’s guess. I just received…
“We Don’t Get Paid Unless You Get Paid” and Other Slogans Used by TV Advertisers
I have been recovering from hip replacement surgery (my second) these last two weeks and have watched a lot of daytime television while keeping my leg elevated and ice on my hip. Although I have enjoyed the short sabbatical, I hate that it came only through the necessity of having…
DeKalb Jury Returns Verdict of $2.35 Million in Medical Malpractice Wrongful Death Trial
I am proud to report that after a three week, hard-fought trial in DeKalb County State Court, a jury returned a verdict in favor of my client for $2.35 Million in a medical malpractice wrongful death case. I will blog more about this shortly, but wanted to share with my…
I Was Just Put On a Jury. Why Am I Here?
I was just put on a jury in a case that seems pretty clear cut. So why am I here? Why is there a trial? Many jurors may find themselves thinking this in a case in which the defendant is clearly at fault and the plaintiff is clearly injured. Most…
The Overwhelming Emotion of a Trial
Recently, I was in a courtroom in Fulton County, Georgia watching a medical malpractice trial. I was not involved in the trial; I was just a trialwatcher. When I have time, I still enjoy watching trials, both civil and criminal, for the real life drama on display. No movie or…
Am I Safe Walking in a Crosswalk?
Every day as I travel down Edgewood Avenue in Downtown Atlanta in the middle of Georgia State University, some pedestrian, without fail, decides to take a risk and walk out in front of either my car or another car as I watch. The only time this doesn’t happen is when…
The Price of a Life: How much money is a life worth?
What is the price of a life lost? Could you put a price tag on your own life or that of a family member, killed at the hands of a negligent defendant? How much would you want people to say your life would have been worth? These are the questions…
Why me? How Did I Get Summoned for Jury Duty?
As I work at my desk in my office today, I have the voir dire (jury selection) in the retrial of Ray Tensing livestreaming on one of my monitors. Some folks have called jury selection the most boring part of any trial, but it may very well be the most important,…