CIVIL PROCEDURE CLASS 27

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CIVIL PROCEDURE CLASS 27

• Professor Fischer
• Columbus School of Law
• The Catholic University of America
• October 27, 2003

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WRAP-UP

• Last time we studied rules that attempt to ensure
  a fair and impartial jury
• 1. Directed verdict rule 50(a) takes the case
  away from the jury where no reasonable jury could
  find for non-moving party. This rule seeks to
  avoid totally irrational verdicts.
• 2. Jury Selection/Voir Dire/Size of Jury Rules
  try to ensure a fair and impartial jury is drawn
  from a cross-section of the community
• We also learned that the Seventh Amendment
  PRESERVES a right to trial by jury where this
  existed at common law at the time of ratification
  of that Amendment (1791).

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CIVIL JURY TRIALS

• Describe the usual procedure at trial

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CIVIL JURY TRIALS

• After choosing a jury, the procedure is usually
  as follows (depends on local rules)
• 1. Ps opening statement (usually goes first)
• 2. Ds opening statement (option to do this after
  Ps direct evidence)
• 3. P presents direct evidence (D can
  cross-examine)
• 4. D may move for a directed verdict
• 4. D presents direct evidence (P can
  cross-examine)
• 5. P presents rebuttal evidence
• 6. D presents rebuttal evidence
• 7. P or D may move for a directed verdict.
  Assuming no successful directed verdict motion,
  closing arguments (usually P speaks first and
  last)
• 8. Jury instructions (judge could also instruct
  in beginning and at end)

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BENCH TRIALS

• Less formal procedure than jury trials
• Often, the judge does not require/permit opening
  statements or closing arguments. Why do you
  think this is the case?
• Obviously, there is no need for jury instructions
  in a bench trial!

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EVIDENCE

• Types of evidence include
• 2. Deposition testimony
• 3. Documents
• 4. Other relevant items
• Elaborate rules of evidence apply to determine
  what is and what is not admissible
• There are Federal Rules of Evidence
• Many states follow these federal rules

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CLOSING ARGUMENTS

• Because evidence is presented in a piecemeal
  fashion, it is hard for the jury to get a
  coherent picture of the case
• The purpose of closing arguments is to give the
  jury such a coherent picture of one partys case

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BIG PICTURE Judicial Control of Juries in Jury
Trials-

• 1. Jury Instructions
• 2. Special Verdicts
• 3. Bifurcation/Trifurcation
• 4. Remittitur/Additur
• 5. J.N.O.V.
• 6. Order for New Trial
• 7. Order to Vacate Judgment

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JURY INSTRUCTIONS (Rule 51)

• What is a jury instruction?
• When are jury instructions given?

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JURY DELIBERATIONS

• Jury retires to deliberate, usually under the
  supervision of the bailiff
• In civil cases, jurors usually are permitted to
  leave for the night.
• However, when jury deliberations are recessed,
  the judge will tell the jury not to discuss the
  case to anyone and not to read media coverage of
  the case

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VERDICTS

• What is a general verdict?
• What is a special verdict? SEE FRCP 49
• What is a general verdict with interrogatories?
  SEE FRCP 49
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of
  special verdicts?
• Sometimes the judge polls the jury to make sure
  the verdict is agreed on by the required number
  of jurors
• How many jurors must agree on the verdict in
  federal court? SEE FRCP 48

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JURY DEADLOCK

• What happens if the jury cannot agree on a
  verdict?

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BIFURCATION

• FRCP 42(b)
• Bifurcation liability and damages
• Trifurcation causation, liability, and damages
• What should a court take into consideration in
  determining whether to bifurcate a trial?
• Must birfucated trials be tried before the same
  jury?
• What are the advantages of bifurcation?
• What are the disadvantages of bifurcation?

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REMITTITUR/ADDITUR

• What is remittitur?
• What is additur?
• Is remittitur constitutional? Why or why not?
• Is additur constitutional? Why or why not?

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IS A J.N.OV. CONSTITUTIONAL?

• Remember Amendment VII No fact tried by a jury
  shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the
  United States, than according to the rules of
  common law.
• The U.S. Supreme Court has held that there was a
  common law analogue to the directed verdict but
  no DIRECT common law analogues for the j.n.o.v.
• So is a J.N.O.V. constitutional? Why or why not?

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SAVING LANGUAGE IN RULE 50(b)

• If, for any reason, the court does not grant a
  motion for judgment as a matter of law made at
  the close of all the evidence, the court is
  considered to have submitted the action to the
  jury subject to the courts later deciding the
  legal questions raised by the motion.

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NEW TRIAL MOTIONS

• FRCP Rule 59
• You should know the time limits for making a
  motion for a new trial. Can a judge grant a new
  trial on its own initiative? In what
  circumstances? What time limits apply? See FRCP
  59(d).
• What are the grounds for granting a motion for a
  new trial?

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GROUNDS FOR GRANTING A NEW TRIAL INCLUDE

• Judge realizes he mistakenly admitted evidence
  over correct objection
• Newly discovered evidence
• Judge realizes she wrongly instructed jury over
  correct objection (see FRCP 51)
• Verdict against the weight of the evidence
• Excessive/inadequate verdict (see
  remittitur/additur above)

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ADDITIONAL GROUNDS FOR NEW TRIAL

• Improper conduct by counsel or judge
• Jury misconduct (e.g. verdict not
  unanimous/inconsistent)
• When can misconduct in a jurys deliberations be
  grounds for a new trial? To what extent is what
  is said in the jury room admissible? See Fed. R.
  Ev. 606(b)?
• Do you agree that Fed. R. Ev. 606(b) strikes an
  appropriate balance? See p. 510 CB