The Jury Process

Belonging to the NRA will get you booted in cases involving a firearm. I paid/received the Rifleman mag but didn't sign the form. Signing the form at the time meant being a citizen, I wasn't at the time. Uphill battle and got the jury verdict I wanted.
 
745SW said:
Belonging to the NRA will get you booted in cases involving a firearm. I paid/received the Rifleman mag but didn't sign the form. Signing the form at the time meant being a citizen, I wasn't at the time. Uphill battle and got the jury verdict I wanted.
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???

What form?

Are you talking about serving on a jury, or being a plaintiff or defendant in a jury trial?
 
Form was the NRA membership. Many don't know in the distant past, 70's, this form stated the applicant is a citizen. Yet during the same time a non citizen can buy, sell and own. My posting is limited because this phone is cheap.

I served on a jury, case involving a firearm. Boyfriend, 70ish, of the mother shot a hole into the married daughters bedroom door, no one hurt. To give example of climate, Boyfriend brung a sandwhich by his mama. Daughter used knife fighting for it.

The prosecutor knew whom to select, a small petit female was a driving force on the jury to convict. At case end I saw from the elevator both prosecutor and female together. He said something and she opened both hands. :)
 
I felt the defendant was perhaps dumb but not a criminal. Focus was on "intent", jury saw the judge on this matter. Must prove intent. Most serious charges were dropped.
 
I recall a thread elsewhere where a poster claimed using a NFA weapon would have no effect on a jury as he (not a lawyer or a jury expert) said that your lawyer would simply tell the jury that your weapon is simply a tool and the judge might not allow the prosecution to point out the seemingly unusual characteristics of the weapon.
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Tell that to Gary Fadden! :rolleyes: For a good writeup on just such a case, see:

"F you and your high powered rifle!" The Gary Fadden incident - The Ayoob files American Handgunner, March-April, 2004 by Massad Ayoob
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A good reason not to have "Punisher" logos or skulls on your weapons, or the cute "Smile - Wait for the flash!" on the muzzle. Makes it easy for the prosecutor to paint you as out looking for trouble. :eek:
 
I went to the range and a guy had a Glock where the back plate of the pistol had a big evil skull on it.

I imagine that would be quite impressive to some jury members. How about the skull receivers for ARs?

It's just a tool being carried by a tool.
 
Skans said:
The insurance defense attorney does get paid hourly, but his/her hourly rate will be less than 1/2 that of most other lawyers who bill on an hourly basis - typically around $120/hour, maybe less.
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At a 120 dollars an hour pittance, that works out to 240,000 dollars a year, assuming a 40 hour work week for 50 weeks out of a year. Even if that person didn't also rake in any benefits, I doubt most Americans would have much sympathy for complaints of income at that level.

On another note, why do people in civil suits get money beyond actual damages and legal fees in the form of punitive damages? If they have been fully compensated, why do they get more?
 
ATN082268 said:
At a 120 dollars an hour pittance, that works out to 240,000 dollars a year, assuming a 40 hour work week for 50 weeks out of a year. Even if that person didn't also rake in any benefits, I doubt most Americans would have much sympathy for complaints of income at that level....
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First, I'm not sure that the $120.00 an hour is necessarily accurate for insurance defense (a lawyer being paid by a liability insurer to defend an insured). Fees vary. I've known a number of lawyers doing that sort of work.

But I guess you have no experience running a business. The lawyer is not an employee of the insurer.

The hourly fee is not money in the lawyer's pocket. It's gross revenue to the practice. Out of gross practice revenue, a lawyer in solo practice, or a law firm, must pay its (usually substantial) overhead, including: office rent; office furniture, supplies and equipment; salaries and benefits of office staff such as secretaries and clerks; subscriptions to on-line legal data bases (like Westlaw and/or Lexis); insurance; and all the other normal overhead expenses of a business.

While some lawyers get very healthy financial, some do not. As with any other business or profession our free society allows one the freedom to succeed and the freedom to fail.

ATN082268 said:
...On another note, why do people in civil suits get money beyond actual damages and legal fees in the form of punitive damages? If they have been fully compensated, why do they get more?
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  1. There are various ways to look at damages, and a lot depends on the sort of claim involved.

  2. In contract claims damages are strictly economic, e. g., the loss of the benefit of the bargain, or the cost involved in finding substitute performance.

  3. In personal injury claims there are two broad categories of damages: special damages; and general damages.

    1. Special damages are quantifiable economic damages, e. g., lost wages, medical bills, the value of property lost or damaged, etc.

    2. General damages are less quantifiable damages such as pain and suffering. While these aren't necessarily quantifiable, the law has long recognized them as true damages which when caused by a person's legal fault are worthy of being compensated by the person at fault. For some types of claim, e. g., medical malpractice, general damages may be limited by statute.

    3. It can often be difficult to decide what would fully compensate someone injured by the legal fault of another. How do you fully compensate the young architect just starting out his career who has been rendered a blind quadriplegic because of the negligence of a drunk driver? Aside from the fact that his near term medical bills will be substantial, he will require significant medical care for the rest of his life. And his career prospects have been substantial diminished.

  4. In general attorney fees are not recoverable as damages. They are usually only recoverable when a statute specifically provides for them or, in contract litigation, when the contract provides for attorney fees.

  5. Punitive damages are only available under very special circumstances. The purpose of punitive damages is not to compensate, but to punish. They will be awarded only in cases of egregious or malicious fault. They are seldom allowed.
 
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