New York Malpractice Lawyer Andrew Lavoott Bluestone Home
Time Chart of Potential Mistakes: Jury Selection, Openings, Witnesses and Summations Through Verdict
Jury Selection
- Be ready for local JCP and TAP rules
- Having all witnesses under control
- Watch Batson violations
- Waiver of jury?
- Number of preemptory challenges to plaintiff depending on number of defendants
- Must state a cause of action against every party, including any third-party practice
- Must state every element of the cause of action
- Call enough witnesses to make out a prima facie case
- Qualify your experts
- Have proof of service of expert reports, authorizations, exchanges of reports, compliance with Preliminary conference order
- Witness can offer up to date testimony, e.g., physician who has performed a recent re-examination
- Leading questions, questions whose answer you don't know
- Objective and subjective reasons for strategic decisions
- Preserve issues and objections
- Offers of proof
- Time measure arguments
- Summing up knowing the judge's charge
- Preserve objections to charge, denials of request to charge, objections to summation, mistrial applications
- Special verdicts
- Poll jury
- Inconsistent verdicts
- Re-submission to jury
- PJI and hand-tailored charges to the Jury
- Avoiding prejudicial summation
- Filing of notice of appeal on verdict in addition to notice of appeal on judgment
- Make any post-trial motions in a timely manner.
