COVID-19 and Jury Trials: “It Ain’t Over ‘Till It’s Over”

Last week I testified before the judiciary Committee of the Vermont House of Representatives on H. 417, a bill that would reduce the size of juries in civil cases in Vermont from 12 to 6 members. The impetus of the Read More …

When a Client Complains, Be Grateful!

Complaints are Opportunities I read Lee Rosen’s email newsletter, Friday File. It’s a great place for practical advice on how to run a law practice. You can subscribe here. In a recent edition, Lee described a traumatic experience with his Read More …

Update: How do we Resume Civil Jury Trials in Vermont

Here is more on that federal criminal trial described in my September 28, 2020 Post: How do we Resume Jury Trials in Vermont It’s based on remarks made by Chief United States District Judge Geoffrey Crawford today at a Federal Read More …

How do we Resume Civil Jury Trials in the Vermont Courts?

We have no doubt, the ‘right of trial by jury’ spoken of in the constitution, and which it is said “ought to be held sacred,” means a jury as at common law, which consists of twelve men, and that wherever a constitution guaranties ‘the right of trial by jury,’ it is not competent for a legislature to reduce that number to six, or any less number than twelve; for the very theory of a trial by jury requires the unanimous consent of twelve men to the verdict.
Lincoln v. Smith, 27 Vt. 328, 358-9 (1855) (emphasis added).
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Uniform Law Commission Drafting Committee on Fiduciary Access to Digital Information Conducts First Meeting in Minneapolis

by RICH CASSIDY on DECEMBER 2, 2012 The Uniform Law Commission’s Drafting Committee on Fiduciary Access to Digital Information conducted its first meeting November 30 through December 1, 2012 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We live in a world in which digitally Read More …