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Jury and jurors – Voir dire
Where a jury found only one of the defendants liable for a driving accident that resulted in a lower-leg amputation, the verdict should be upheld because the trial judge did not abuse his broad discretion in excluding the plaintiff's proposed line of questioning during attorney-conducted voir dire.
Denial of attorney voir dire on ‘signaling’ liability upheld
Appeals Court upheld a judge’s voir dire limits in a $12.82M motorcycle crash case, rejecting negligence claims against a truck driver and Sysco.
Jury and jurors – Bias – Voir dire
Where (1) a jury found a defendant guilty of first-degree murder and (2) he has moved to vacate the verdict based on a deliberating juror’s failure to disclose that his uncle had shot his grandfather during a mental health crisis, the motion should be denied because the juror did not dishonestly answer questions during voir dire and was not biased against the defendant.
Juror bias claim rejected by SJC
Three defendants convicted of second-degree murder who claimed juror bias have been denied a new trial despite a finding that a juror provided false information during empanelment.
Jury and jurors – Bias
Where three defendants convicted of second-degree filed motions for a new trial, it was not an abuse of discretion to deny those motions despite the fact that a juror knowingly provided an inaccurate answer during voir dire.
Rejection of voir dire questions not abuse of discretion
The Appeals Court has ruled that the judge in a medical malpractice case did not abuse his discretion in replacing the plaintiffs’ proposed jury voir dire questions with more general questions of his own.
Negligence – Medical malpractice – Attorney-conducted voir dire
Where a Superior Court jury found in favor of a defendant physician, the trial judge acted within his discretion in replacing the plaintiffs' proposed jury voir dire questions with alternative questions.
Mock trials set to begin amid chorus of doubt over jury plan
As state courts prepared to launch mock proceedings to test new safety protocols for trying cases during the pandemic, stakeholders continued to express doubts over the feasibility of a judicial […]
Columnist answers critics on juror privacy issue
(The following letter is in response to two op-eds that appeared in the Jan. 18 issue: “Attorney voir dire will improve, not spoil, experience for jurors,” and “Lawyer-conducted voir dire […]
Up to bar to help defend, save attorney-conducted voir dire
If we completely trusted judges to deliver justice, we would not have juries. It’s not just mistrust in the Lord Acton sense (“power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”). It’s […]
Jury and jurors – Voir dire – Sleeping juror
Where a trial judge was informed that a jury had been sleeping during the presentation of evidence, the judge committed reversible error by not conducting a voir dire. “The defendant […]
Jury and jurors – Attorney-led voir dire
Where a plaintiff in a motor vehicle accident case has moved for attorney-conducted voir dire, the motion should be allowed subject to a number of conditions.
Verdicts & Settlements
- Injury during baby’s adenoidectomy leads to stroke
- Construction worker’s hand caught in cement mixer
- Worker trapped in freezer, dies during steam cleaning
- Pedestrian, 69, hit by motor vehicle while in crosswalk
- Four-vehicle pileup leaves driver with spinal cord injury
- Nursing home staff blamed for kidney-failure death
- Pharmacy’s late delivery blamed for patient’s death
- Man, 25, drowns after swimming lesson at fitness club
Opinion Digests
- Jurisdiction – Forum selection clause – Non-signatory
- Criminal – Responsibility
- Attorneys – Lien
- Landlord and tenant – Default judgment
- Zoning – Constructive grant – Comprehensive permit
- Fraud – False Claims Act – Settlement share
- Civil practice – Discovery – Cybersecurity
