Supreme Court opinions - especially in the realm of jury instructions, deficient performance of counsel (when IAC is not vigorously rooted out it is permitted to fester so that the standard of care is so degraded that ineffective assistance of counsel becomes the norm in some counties and states), failure to expeditiously move cases in many locales, and the persistently nagging problems relating to discovery violations.The fall out from the NSA wiretapping… [read post]

Jury Geek guest-blogger Philip Monte suggests that jurors, particularly in the south, may become "even more cynical and suspicious than they are at the present time," not only in Katrina-related cases, but also in more general cases. [read post]