Actress, Entertainer, and Polish Immigrant Danusia Trevino Gives Touching Testimony About Her Jury Service
In this podcast, Trevino will likely cause all but the most insensitive listeners to laugh, cry, or both. This is another resource for those trying to encourage citizens to respond positively to a jury duty summons.
Judge Reportedly Calls a Juror “Aunt Jemima” – Now He’s Exiled to Administrative Duties
After a Pittsburgh jury recently acquitted the defendant in a drug case, the trial judge met with the prosecutor and defense counsel in chambers. In a complaint filed with the Judicial Conduct Board, defense counsel reported that the judge scolded the prosecutor, saying, “You weren’t out of strikes when you decided to put Aunt Jemima on the jury,” According to NBC News, the judge also stated, “You know darn well that when she goes home to her baby daddy, he’s probably slinging heroin, too.” Since the complaint was filed, the chief judge of Allegheny County has removed the judge from case assignments and ordered him to perform only administrative tasks.
Oklahoma Has Jury Trials for Termination-of-Parental-Rights Cases
In last week’s issue of Jur-E Bulletin, we reported (with some surprise) on Wyoming’s jury trial procedures in TPR cases. We now thank Oklahoma Chief Justice Noma D. Gurich for informing us that Oklahoma also has juries in such cases.
Vermont AG Used Child Abuse and Neglect Records to Vet Potential Jurors. Was It Legal?
In a negligence lawsuit against Vermont’s child protection agency, the state attorney general office during jury selection reportedly consulted confidential child abuse records to evaluate the fitness of 80 potential jurors to be petit jurors. The state’s top public defender and plaintiffs’ attorney are publicly complaining about the government’s tactics while evidence is being presented in the ongoing trial. Will this become an appellate issue?
How Courts Take Care of Jurors in High Profile Cases – Some Federal Judges’ Perspectives
Judiciary News, a publication of the U.S. Courts, features a discussion with several federal judges who presided over high profile jury trials. U.S. District Court Judge I. Leo Glasser, who presided over the John Gotti trial in NYC, and others talk about the steps they took to protect and care for the jurors.