Civil procedure - jury trials Flashcards
At the close of evidence at trial, pursuant to the court’s scheduling order, the plaintiff’s attorney filed a written request for jury instructions. After the close of evidence, the plaintiff’s attorney determined that she wanted to supplement her request with additional instructions.
What is the correct standard for permitting a party to request additional jury instructions after the close of evidence?
Whether the party could not have reasonably anticipated the need for the additional instructions before the deadline set by the court.
After the close of the evidence and oral arguments by the parties, the judge instructed the jurors and dismissed them to deliberate. However, one of the jury instructions given materially misstated the elements of an applicable statute. Both parties were unaware of the misstatement. As such, neither party timely objected to the erroneous instruction.
May a reviewing court consider the erroneous instruction?
Yes, a reviewing court may consider the erroneous instruction for plain error if it affected any party’s substantial rights, regardless of whether the objection was preserved.
Where does the right to a jury trial come from
7A
How many jurors do you need to have in a jury trial
at least 6 but no more than 12 unless stipulated by parties
what happens if there is a depletion of jurors and you stipulated to 6 but due to the depletion you have 5 now
jury trial is valid
Does the verdict have to be unamious in a federal jury trial
Yes unless agreed otherwise
When must the demand for a jury trial need to be made
w/n 14 days after service of the last pleading
When must the demand for a jury trial need not to be made within 14 days
Unless a court may order a jury trial upon a motion by a party on any issue for which the jury might have been demanded even after the period is passed
when do you not have a right to a jury trial
in state court or equitable matters
What if you have a case where it is both equitable and legal remedies are present
Try the legal issues first with a jury and the equitable claim before the judge
State trials have no right to jury trial and the verdict
does not have to be unanimous
Can you w/d the demand with jury trial
You can if all the parties consent
If there is no right to a jury trial or the parties waive who is the fact finder
judge
If the judge is a fact finder the decision must state
findings and conclusions
Who was not a proper defendant in a suit at common law in 1791
A foreign manufacturer
What are the 2 different ways to dismiss a juror
for cause and without case
for cause
Any bias or connection to the state must be dismissed → unlimited chances
Standard: Proven or may exist bias
How many w/o cause aka prempatory challenges does each side have
3
A juror cannot be excluded based on
gender or race
Who instructs the jury about the law
Judge
If a party wants to object to the jury instructions they must do so
before the jury retires/ deliberates or they loose it on appeal
What is allowed in a jury deliberation
paper, exhibits, notes you took in the trial into the deliberation
What is not allowed in a jury deliberation
anything not in evidence
What can the juror’s not do
private study or experiments on the evidence outside the jury room
Cannot talk to non-jurors about the trial
If jurors talk to nonjurors about the trial what happens
misconduct / possible new trial
What happens if the juror is getting information from a 3rd party
New trial can be ordered for outside prejudicial information
What happens if the juror is doing something on the inside to prejudice himself
verdict will not be set aside
EX: Bob juror tells Fred juror he thinks Daryl juror is doing something wrong
In order to raise a new trial post-trial based on a juror failing to honestly answer a material question the proponent of the new side would need to show
A correct answer would have lead to a valid challenge and bad faith
