First time juror? I’m guessing you have a pretty good idea what to expect: sit in a packed room (pre-COVID) waiting to be excused without getting to be involved in the trial. Civic duty satisfied. But, for the lucky ones who actually get impaneled onto a jury here is what you absolutely MUST KNOW but what every trial attorney can never say during trial.
Please Note: If I look familiar, meaning, you are on my jury panel you should stop reading this.
#5: Jurors Cannot Do Electronic Research During Trial
“Spoiler Alert: 99% of all verdicts are paid for by the at-fault parties insurance company. But, you'll never know this during trial.”
So this isn’t much a secret since the judge will tell everyone from the get-go but it’s worth mentioning. Judicial Counsel of California Jury Instructions (“CACI”) 116 states, “…you must not electronically communicate or do any research on anything having to do with this trial or the parties.”
So, again, if you’re my juror you’re not supposed to be reading this right now. In fact, you’re in direct violation of the Court’s orders. But, common sense says that most folks are going to dig a little, so here you are.
The reason for this instruction is simple: all evidence comes from the witness stand. Jurors are not supposed to become Sherlock Holmes, go to the scene, interrogate witnesses and come to their own—albeit logical—conclusions. But, if you're the type to do this sort of thing you should work at a law firm.
#4: What Attorneys Say is Not Evidence
CACI 106 states, “What the attorneys say during the trial is not evidence.”
Then how come the attorneys are the ones doing most of the talking? Great question. This instruction is, again, meant to show that all evidence comes from the witness stand and has zero to do with what the attorneys wish the evidence was.
Here’s a tip: when an attorney starts personalizing, starts talking about themselves, their family, their beliefs, this is all improper. Focus on what comes from the witness stand and not the ones with fancy watches, purses or shoes in court. That being said, don't blame clients for their fashionable attorneys. #LegallyChic
#3: Defense “Paid-For” Experts
“The person at defense table is likely NOT the defendant— it's the insurance company puppet placed there for sympathy."
When defense counsel tells you they brought an “expert” to trial let me be very, very clear—they are bought and paid for by the insurance industry. A long time ago they were asked, "would you like the blue pill or the red pill?" They are made multi-millionaires by coming into court, every week, across the state, all to say the same thing for the defense: this injury could not have happened or this injury isn’t as bad as all the other doctors are saying it is. In all honesty, if these doctors were actually treating folks outside of this legal world their opinions would be drastically different.
What does that mean? There are "treating" physicians and "paid-for" experts; the latter, does not treat the patient or owe the Hippocratic oath to the patient. They are paid to give an opinion. Most are highly educated with great pedigrees but money does interesting things.
Every witness swears an oath to tell the truth. It's up to every juror to weigh the credibility of the witness (expert or otherwise) and see what makes most sense. See CACI 219 & 221 for more details.
#2: Who is the Puppet at Defense’s Table?
This one is confusing. The person(s) sitting at defense counsel’s table is not always the defendant. A reminder, the “defendant” is defending the case. They are the party who failed to follow a safety rule and caused harm. Sometimes both the plaintiff (party bringing the case) and the defendant can share responsibility. This is referred to as comparative negligence and supported under California law.
When the defendant is a business, the actual wrongdoer—the employee who, for example, caused the auto collision—is not even in court. Instead, you may have a corporate representative, manager or someone else hired by their insurance company. Even better, the defense attorney(s) themselves are, you guessed it, hired by the insurance companies—rarely by the defendant themselves. You'll be able to spot them as the ones wearing pinstripe suits in court... no one knows why.
Why is this such a secret? Because the #1 biggest secret that they hide from all jurors is…
#1: Who is Paying For All of This?
CACI 105 and 5001 explicitly states, “You must not consider whether any of the parties in this case has insurance. The presence or absence of insurance is totally irrelevant. You must decide this case based only on the law and the evidence.”
This is the only jury instruction given twice. It’s given at the very beginning and again at the very end. You’d think that by saying the word “insurance” over and over again jurors would know who is paying for all the defense “experts,” defense attorneys, years of litigation costs and trial—the defendant's insurance company. I mean, they are the one doing all the negotiations and forcing trial. In fact, when you, the jury, bring a verdict in this case 9 times out of 10 it’s paid by the insurance company. The verdict brings no harm to the puppet the insurance companies have placed at defense counsel's table.
If you’re reading this, you’ll know that everyone on the defense side is bought and paid for by the insurance company to manufacture a low verdict. Sometimes they even fool the jurors, but not anymore.
Now you know. Insurance pays for everything but won’t pay for justice until the jury brings a verdict. Even after a verdict the insurance company will appeal the verdict (bring another lawsuit to a higher court) to drag the case out another few years… starving the injured party of justice until the defense gets a discount. That’s why we’re in trial. That’s why we’re fighting so hard.
Next time you’re in court, you’ll know exactly who is sitting at defense counsel’s table, who is orchestrated the trial, who has refused to pay for their wrongdoing, and who will ultimately pay the verdict.
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