http://bennettandbennett.com/blog/2008/05/problems-with-judge-voir-dire.html the tao of criminal defense trial lawyering Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:51:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 http://bennettandbennett.com/blog/2008/05/problems-with-judge-voir-dire.html/comment-page-1#comment-3361 anna Wed, 14 May 2008 03:42:36 +0000 http://bennettandbennett.com/blog/2008/05/problems-with-judge-voir-dire.html#comment-3361 My favorite is the judge explaining to the jury that it is against the law for them to take the defendant's race into account in their deliberations. Then the judge asks them if they can follow that? Is anyone going to say no? Then the judge says the defendant is presumed innocent and comes before them with a clean slate and has not burden to prove his innocence, and the judge asks them if they can follow that rule? Who will say no? Then the prosecution gets to argue in closing that they are to use their common sense in deciding guilty, which common sense tells them that if the police charged the guy, he is guilty, especiallly if he is black. My favorite is the judge explaining to the jury that it is against the law for them to take the defendant’s race into account in their deliberations. Then the judge asks them if they can follow that? Is anyone going to say no? Then the judge says the defendant is presumed innocent and comes before them with a clean slate and has not burden to prove his innocence, and the judge asks them if they can follow that rule? Who will say no? Then the prosecution gets to argue in closing that they are to use their common sense in deciding guilty, which common sense tells them that if the police charged the guy, he is guilty, especiallly if he is black.

]]> http://bennettandbennett.com/blog/2008/05/problems-with-judge-voir-dire.html/comment-page-1#comment-3360 Mark Bennett Wed, 14 May 2008 02:29:44 +0000 http://bennettandbennett.com/blog/2008/05/problems-with-judge-voir-dire.html#comment-3360 Quite likely. When the judge is doing a wholly worthless voir dire, there's not a whole lot for second-chair counsel to do other than calculate the mean age of the jurors (seven years younger than the panel we busted the day before when the lawyers got voir dire). Quite likely. When the judge is doing a wholly worthless voir dire, there’s not a whole lot for second-chair counsel to do other than calculate the mean age of the jurors (seven years younger than the panel we busted the day before when the lawyers got voir dire).

]]> http://bennettandbennett.com/blog/2008/05/problems-with-judge-voir-dire.html/comment-page-1#comment-3359 AHCL Wed, 14 May 2008 02:19:42 +0000 http://bennettandbennett.com/blog/2008/05/problems-with-judge-voir-dire.html#comment-3359 Are tonight's winning lottery numbers listed on that sheet of paper? Are tonight’s winning lottery numbers listed on that sheet of paper?

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