Civil Procedure Commons^™

Chapters Of The Civil Jury, Doug R. Rendleman

Faculty Publications

The civil jury, though constitutionally protected by the seventh amendment, has remained a controversial institution throughout much of Anglo-American legal history. Our romantic ideals are questioned by critics who view the civil jury as prejudiced and unpredictable; proponents note the sense of fairness and "earthy wisdom" gained by community participation in the legal process. This debate surfaces in the process of accommodation between certain substantive goals of the law and the pre-verdict and post-verdict procedural devices courts have employed to control the jury. In this article, Professor Rendleman examines this conflict in his three "chapters" involving racially motivated discharges of …

Kentucky Law Survey: Civil Procedure, William H. Fortune

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This article provides a survey of civil procedure developments in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The most significant civil procedure case decided by the Kentucky Court of Appeals during the period covered by this Survey is Nazareth Literary and Benevolent Institution v. Stephenson. That case, which deals with discovery of privileged communications, may have created problems that will require legislative action. Other decisions by the Court during this period serve to illustrate and amplify existing procedural points. The more important of these decisions will be briefly discussed prior to the consideration of Stephenson.

Discretionary Jury Trial Under The Federal Rules

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Modern Trends In Trial By Jury, Alexander Holtzoff

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Juries--Change Of Venue--Discretion Of Trial Judge, T. E. P.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Requirement Of Consent Of Three-Fourths Of Jury To Verdicts In Civil Action, Abolishing Law Of Unanimous Consent, Julian F. Bouchelle

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Mind Of The Juror, Stephen Ailes

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Practice And Procedure - Reservation Of Decision On Motion For Directed Verdict As Means Of Avoiding Unnecessary New Trials

Michigan Law Review

What may be done to remedy the situation if a jury brings in a verdict in favor of a party against whom a verdict should have been directed? This question becomes pertinent in view of the fact that judges, while hard pressed by counsel in the heat of trial, frequently wrongfully deny a motion for directed verdict and submit the case to the jury. One obvious remedy is the granting of a new trial by the trial judge, or by an appellate court after reversal. But this practice has proved eminently unsatisfactory, for it submits the aggrieved party to the …

Trial--Instructions--Unanimity Of The Jury Verdict, Richard F. Currence

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Jury Trial, Waiver Thereof And The Alternate Juror, Alfred A. Naff

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Trial--Polling The Jury--Manner Of Conducting, E. Gaujot Bias

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Right To Comment On The Failure Of The Defendant To Testify, Andrew A. Bruce

Michigan Law Review

In 1931 the American Law Institute adopted a resolution to the effect that "The judge, the prosecuting attorney and counsel for the defense may comment upon the fact that the defendant did not testify."

In the same year the American Bar Association resolved: "That by law it should be permitted to the prosecution to comment to the jury on the fact that a defendant did not take the stand as a witness; and to the jury to draw the reasonable inferences."

Torts - Negligence - Recent Acquisition Of Driver's License

Michigan Law Review

In a suit for damages for injuries allegedly negligently inflicted upon the occupant of an automobile, plaintiff testified that defendant was driving at a high rate of speed when his car began to zigzag and finally overturned, injuring plaintiff. Defendant testified that he was driving moderately when, upon their sudden application, the brakes locked, causing the car to zigzag and overturn. There was evidence to the effect that "defendant was an inexperienced driver, having just obtained his driver's license." Defendant's motions for a nonsuit and a directed verdict were refused. Held, that the question of defendant's negligence was for …

What Price Jury Trials, Jeff B. Fordham

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Courts-Power To Direct Verdicts Where Forbidden By State Constitution

Michigan Law Review

ln a suit for personal injuries the district court of the United States for the district of Arizona directed a verdict for the defendant on the ground that the plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence. The constitution of Arizona, sec. 5, art. 18 provides: "The defense of contributory negligence or of assumption of risk shall, in all cases whatsoever, be a question of fact and shall, at all times, be left to the jury." Held, that this section is not binding on a federal court sitting in Arizona, and does not prevent such court from directing a verdict when …

Should The Jury System Be Abolished, T. W. A.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Special Interrogatories, Arlos Jackson Harbert

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Trial By Jury In Civil Cases--A Proposed Reform, Robert T. Donley

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Special Interrogatories To The Jury--Their Nature And Purpose--Court's Discretion Relative To Their Submission, G. D. H.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Error Without Prejudice

Michigan Law Review

An examination of almost any of our reports of decisions now current, will impress one with the great number of cases reported in which the courts discuss the matter of reversal for error as affected by the question of whether prejudice results from such error.

Abolish The Jury, J. C. Mcwhorter

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Juries--Prejudicial Conduct--Separation, R. J. R.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Right Of A Jury In A Criminal Case To Render A Verdict Against The Law And The Evidence, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

One George D. Horning was convicted of the criminal offense of doing business as a pawnbroker in the District of Columbia without a license. The jury, which rendered the verdict of guilty, were told by the court, in the course of the charge, that there really was no issue of fact for them to decide; that the evidence showed a course of dealing constituting a breach of the law, and that they were not warranted in capriciously saying that the witnesses for the government and for the defendant were not telling the truth; that it was their duty to accept …

Should A Correct Verdict Be Set Aside Because The Jury Failed To Follow Erroneous Instructions?, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

One of the common grounds of a new trial is that the verdict is contrary to law. What law is meant,--the law as it really is, or the law that was given to the jury by the court's instruction? Most cases hold to the latter view. It is the duty of the jury to take the law from the court, whether the court in so giving it is right or wrong. Hence, the jury violate their duty if they fail to follow instructions, even if the instructions are wrong, and a verdict based on a breach of the jury's duty …

Verdicts, General And Special, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

The most remarkable thing about this case of Georgia v. Brailsford is that a matter of such elementary importance in the daily administration of the law, after being announced in so dramatic a way by the Supreme Court of the United States at the very threshold of its career, could have dropped into oblivion for a hundred years only to be repudiated in a way hardly less dramatic by a sharply divided court. The controversy here disclosed goes to the very heart of the jury system as it has been developed by the common law and is still almost universally …

Directing A Verdict For The Party Having The Burden Of Proof, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

The practice of moving for a directed verdict is the modern substitute for the old demurrer to the evidence. The reason for its development at the expense of the older procedure is not far to seek. The demurrer to the evidence was in the first place cumbersome and difficult to draw, for it was required to contain a full written recital of all the facts shown in evidence by the opposite party, together with all reasonable inferences favorable to the party who introduced the evidence.1 The preparation of such a demurrer usually required the expenditure of much time and labor.

Cases On Procedure, Annotated. Trial Practice, Edson R. Sunderland

Books

“The present volume is intended to develop and disclose the rational basis for the main principles of practice employed in the trial of civil actions at law. Recourse has been had to the whole body of American case law, and the choice of cases has been determined by the clearness with which the court has shown a logical justification for the decision made….

“The cases have been very freely edited, and everything not germane to the subject for which the case was chosen has been omitted….” --Preface

Cases On Procedure, Annotated: Trial Practice, Edson Sunderland

Books

The present volume is intended to develop and disclose the rational basis for the main principles of practice employed in the trial of civil actions at law. Recourse has been had to the whole body of American case law, and the choice of cases has been determined by the clearness with which the court has shown a logical justification for the decision made. By this means it is hoped that the book will help the student to analyze and understand the methods by which courts solve problem of practice, to appreciate the comparative value, importance and bearing of the different …

Examination Of The Medical Expert, Harry B. Hutchins

Articles

The expert witness differs essentially from the ordinary witness in at least two particulars; first, in that the field of his testimony is outside the range of ordinary knowledge and experience; and, secondly, in that his testimony in the great majority of cases is in the form of opinions or conclusions that are deemed necessary for the proper guidance of the jury. It goes without saying that the 'lawyer who undertakes the examination of the expert should have such familiarity with the subject of inquiry as will enable him to develop it through the expert logically and clearly, but unfortunately …

The Physician As An Expert, Harry B. Hutchins

Articles

Expert evidence is evidence of a scientific or technical character in regard to a matter that is outside the domain of ordinary experience and knowledge. The evidence is usually in the form of opinions or conclusions based upon facts that for the purposes of an opinion are assumed to be true, although it may be in regard to scientific facts. The expert is one who has had special training or opportunities in a particular subject that the ordinary witness has not enjoyed, and who has thereby acquired certain habits of judgment.that render his explanations and opinions in the field of …