Defending People

the art and science of criminal defense trial lawyering

One Double Strike

I just compared notes with the prosecutor on my trial case. In picking a jury of 12 out of a panel of 65, exercising 10 peremptory challenges each, we made one double strike.

Tags:


This entry was posted by Mark Bennett on Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 at 9:26 am and is filed under jury selection. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

About The Author

Mark Bennett
Mark Bennett got his letter of marque from the Supreme Court of Texas in May 1995. He is famous for having no sense of humor when it comes to totalitarianism.

Comments

10 Responses to “One Double Strike”

  1. Ron in Houston says:
    15 July 2008 at 12:37 pm

    And the verdict was? (Or is the jury still out?)

    Reply
  2. Mark Bennett says:
    15 July 2008 at 3:18 pm

    The prosecutor is arguing as we speak.

    Reply
  3. Mark Bennett says:
    15 July 2008 at 5:21 pm

    Guilty verdict. Hate it when that happens.

    Reply
  4. john gibson says:
    15 July 2008 at 5:29 pm

    That was quick wasn’t it?

    Reply
  5. Mark Bennett says:
    15 July 2008 at 5:41 pm

    Much quicker than it seems: maybe 15 minutes of deliberation. I guess it was more of a whale than I had convinced myself.

    Reply
  6. Fortunatus Victorus says:
    15 July 2008 at 7:26 pm

    A whale you almost got an instructed verdict on! –Think the ending of the Tennessee-St. Louis Super Bowl. Competitors don’t take consolation prizes, but way to make the prosecutor sweat, Mark!

    Reply
  7. Mark Bennett says:
    15 July 2008 at 8:14 pm

    Yep, if we’d been before a judge who had ever granted an instructed verdict, then this case might have been a real nail-biter.

    Reply
  8. AHCL says:
    16 July 2008 at 9:16 pm

    Back to the issue of double-strikes, I still think it happens a lot more than you think it does.

    So, please consider this my formal notice of “See! I told you so!”

    Reply
  9. Mark Bennett says:
    16 July 2008 at 9:25 pm

    One strike. One lousy strike. The prosecutor was just having an “off” day.

    Reply
  10. Ron in Houston says:
    16 July 2008 at 9:37 pm

    Mark

    You and AHCL – I know that you guys really respect one another but your public bickering is kinda funny.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

By submitting a comment here you give me permission to use your words in any way I like, including editing them for clarity, brevity, or content, as well as rearranging the words or the letters within them to change their very meaning. Those who engage in anonymous ad hominem attacks are the car-keyers of the internet, and will not be tolerated. If you engage in such attacks, I may edit the post to show your name or to make it appear that you are attacking yourself. Or both. I don't have to let you comment here. Don't do so for blatant marketing purposes; do so only to add to the discussion. Once you click "submit comment" you have given up all interest in your words to me, and have no further interest in your words. You agree never to sue, grieve, or complain to anyone about the use that I make of the letters you have typed. If you even threaten to do so, you agree that you will be held up to eternal public ridicule.

« Trial Psychosis     Another Odd Victory »