In September, the U.S. government sued Edward Snowden in federal court to recover sales profits from his memoir Permanent Record. The government is demanding a bench trial on the grounds that the book discloses intelligence secrets. Wesleyan University Professor Sonali Chakravarti gives reasons in The Nation magazine why Snowden should be given a jury trial.
Pressure Mounts for Removal of Judge Who Jailed Black Youth for Skipping Jury Duty
Last week, the Jur-E Bulletin reported on how 21-year-old Deandre Somerville was jailed for 10 days for oversleeping and missing his jury duty assignment. A national outcry over the case has ensued. The South Florida Sun Sentinelnow reports there are concerted efforts by community leaders to remove the sentencing judge from his office or, at least, from all jury trials.
Stingy Court Ruling on a Motion to Strike a Venireman for Cause Results in Verdict Reversal
In a wrongful death case against a health-care provider, a prospective juror stated repeatedly in response to voir dire questions that he could decide issues regarding the defendant’s liability but would not engage himself with respect to determining damages. The trial court denied a defense motion to strike for cause, resulting in that juror being on the final jury—defense counsel by that time having used up all available peremptory strikes. AnIndiana appellate panel carefully examined the Q&Awith the subject juror, found his answers showed bias, and vacated the defense verdict.
Should Juries Decide Whether There’s Been Spoliation of Electronically Stored Discovery Information?
With sanctions litigation being a regular phenomenon when electronically stored information is lost in discovery, Venable partner Brian Zemil writes “courts are increasingly looking to jurors to determine whether a putative spoliator has acted with the intent necessary to warrant remedies under [Fed. Rule of Civ. Proc. 37(e)].” He gives a nice summary of relevant cases in Mondaq, an online journal for professionals engaged in global commerce.
California Repeals Felony Exclusion for Jury Service
On October 10, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate BillNo. 310, which makes convicted felons eligible and qualified to be a prospective jurors. It would leave in place the following disqualifiers: “persons while they are incarcerated in any prison or jail, persons who have been convicted of a felony and are currently on parole, post-release community supervision, felony probation, or mandated supervision for the conviction of a felony, and persons who are currently required to register as a sex offender based on a felony conviction.”
Ontario Team Receives 2019 Munsterman Award for Innovation in Jury Inclusiveness
The Juries Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) Team has been selected to receive the National Center for State Courts’ (NCSC) 2019 G. Thomas Munsterman Award for Jury Innovation. The Munsterman Award recognizes states, local courts, organizations, and individuals that have made significant improvements or innovations in jury procedures, operations, and practices. The Ontario team is the first Munsterman Award recipient outside of the United States.
