Jurors Today: Texts and "Tweets?"

For centuries, lawyers and law students have taken for granted that, in the interests of justice, those serving on juries cannot obtain outside information about the case when they are outside the courtroom. But in the world of Web 2.0, it's not that simple anymore. While the new September Library display highlights the common law jury tradition in the U.S. and throughout the world, there are new challenges facing today's lawyers and judges "where the information superhighway intersects with the halls of justice." Mistrials have been declared and new laws to control juror communications and "research"are being passed. Are they the answer? You can read an excellent summary of the problem and some of the solutions being tried in "Texts and 'Tweets' by Jurors, Lawyers, Pose Courtroom Conundrums", from the August issue of Trial, a publication of the American Association of Justice (formerly, ATLA, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America).



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Changes Proposed for Civil Trials

In their final report issued this week, a task force of prominent plaintiffs' attorneys and defense attorneys from the American College of Trial Lawyers agreed on something. They called for changes that would transform the current civil discovery rules--including replacing notice pleading with fact-based pleading, revising the rules for initial disclosures, and making civil discovery more targeted and time-limited. The College's Task Force on Discovery and the University of Denver's Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, issued the report based on an 18-month joint project to examine the role of discovery in perceived problems, such as delays and prohibitive litigation costs, in the American civil justice system. The anticipated "public discussion and debate" will no doubt follow.





Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat