Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
With a filing in Hong Kong, an otherwise routine employment dispute between recruiters Evan Jowers and Robert Kinney gained global dimension. But it always had the one essential element of a feud: they once were friends. Natalie Posgate explains.
The first post COVID-19 federal jury trial in Texas ended yesterday afternoon with the defendant being acquitted and the jurors stating that they felt "very comfortable and safe." Northern District Chief District Judge Barbara Lynn, in an exclusive Texas Lawbook interview, discusses all the preparations that went into making the trial a success.
Fourteen North Texans filed into the 15th floor courtroom of Judge Barbara Lynn this morning to begin the first jury trial to be conducted in Texas – and only the third federal jury trial in the entire U.S. – since courts shutdown at the end of March due to the COVID-19 crisis. But it is not like any jury trial Texas has ever seen before.
The three energy companies claim they sustained economic losses from the temporary shutdown of the Houston Ship Channel caused by last year’s chemical fire in Deer Park.
Texas judges will be permitted to conduct jury trials remotely and sometimes in-person as long as they develop a plan that follows the social distancing guidelines and other safety provisions established by the Texas Office of Court Administration, according to a new order issued Wednesday by Texas Chief Justice Nathan Hecht.
Lawyers at Norton Rose Fulbright representing a Spanish tether chain maker have asked the Fifth Circuit to force a federal judge in Houston to postpone a civil jury trial until early next year. The business, Vicinay Cadenas, argues that the judge's order that the $165 million contract dispute go to trial in July violates their constitutional rights and puts the defense at a tactical disadvantage against the plaintiff, Petrobras.
While the legal industry has made strides in hiring more women, Greenberg Traurig senior vice president Mary-Olga Lovett says more must be done to overcome the industry’s retention problem and put more female lawyers into the hot seat. Gwendolyn Wu of the Houston Chronicle has the story.
From the beginning the whole process took only a smidge over 94 minutes. But jury selection in the first actual (sort of) virtual trial was as smooth and efficient as 30 faces from 30 different places mashed onto a screen can be. The Lawbook watched and was impressed.
Exxon Mobil and the federal government were in the midst of a $77 million bench trial in Houston when the proceedings were interrupted by COVID-19. Instead of waiting to return to court, the parties chose to finish out the trial electronically. And while there has been no decision on the environmental dispute involved, there has been a ruling on the electronic bench-trial experience. Natalie Posgate has the verdict.
The plaintiffs alleged that their repeated exposure to violent and graphic content — child sexual abuse, beheadings, terrorism, animal cruelty and other disturbing images — have caused them PTSD and other psychological issues. The settlement, obtained by Burns Charest, is considered "a first of its kind" because it also provides workplace reform in addition to monetary relief.
When a furloughed mother-of-two in the Houston area was not able to make rent April 1, her landlord called and texted more than 267 times over the next month — even suggesting she take up prostitution to come up with the money. But a group of attorneys from Crawford, Wishnew & Lang swept in on a pro bono basis and successfully obtained a TRO for the tenant this week. They say the case makes their “blood boil.” Natalie Posgate explains why.
Four prominent trial organizations representing more than 10,000 lawyers in Texas filed a brief Friday asking the Texas Supreme Court to reverse an opinion it issued two weeks ago that tossed out sanctions against Dallas lawyer Bill Brewer for allegedly trying to taint the jury pool in one of his cases. “This opinion appears to set a new and disturbing standard," the brief states.
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