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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Trial Lawyer And The Reptilian Brain: A Critique, Louis J. Sirico, Jr.
The Trial Lawyer And The Reptilian Brain: A Critique, Louis J. Sirico, Jr.
Cleveland State Law Review
This Article brings together neuroscience, cultural symbolism, and the strategies of practicing lawyers to critique the reptile strategy, now popular among trial lawyers. The strategy directs the lawyer to trigger the reptilian brains of jurors so that they react instinctively to threats to themselves and their communities. When humans feel threatened, the reptilian brain, the most primitive part of the brain, takes charge and instinctively controls human conduct. Therefore, if a lawyer can make a juror feel threatened, the lawyer makes an appeal to the juror’s reptilian brain and virtually assures a victory. Thus, a lawyer’s argument should intensify the …
Straightforward On Its Face But Mindbending In Its Application: Juror Concurrence In Criminal Trials, Stephen Ehrlich
Straightforward On Its Face But Mindbending In Its Application: Juror Concurrence In Criminal Trials, Stephen Ehrlich
Cleveland State Law Review
Ever since In re Winship in 1970, it is well settled that the Due Process Clause requires a jury to find “proof beyond a reasonable doubt of every fact necessary to constitute the crime.” But as axiomatic as this holding may seem, the distinction between necessary facts of a crime and “mere means” of its commission has confounded courts for years. The Supreme Court, recognizing the need to re-address such an important issue, attempted to provide some guidance in this area through two landmark cases decided just before the turn of the twenty first century: Schad v. Arizona and Richardson …
E-Jurors: A View From The Bench, Hon. Antoinette Plogstedt
E-Jurors: A View From The Bench, Hon. Antoinette Plogstedt
Cleveland State Law Review
This Article provides a comparative analysis of foreign jury systems and reviews the history of juries. The Article then explores emerging technology and its effect upon electronic juror misconduct. It further identifies juror misconduct resulting from innovative technology. The Article assesses solutions initiated in various U.S. state and federal jurisdictions. The Article reviews the role of more active juries, which incorporate note taking and jury notebooks. The Article analyzes the process of juror questioning and pre-deliberation juror discussions. The Article evaluates initiatives developed in various jurisdictions to deter juror misconduct by confiscating cell phones and improving jury instructions. Finally, this …