Minnesota Lawyer Blog

Thanks to Minnesota Lawyer's sister publication, the Maryland Daily Record, for this item:

With this murder trial, I thee wed.

Love blossomed in a trial last year between alternate juror No. 3, Traci Nagy, and juror No. 6, Jonathan Cinkay.

The (New York) Daily News reported Sunday that the two made goo-goo eyes on the first day of the trial. Fellow jurors encouraged Nagy, a 36-year-old market analyst, to date Cinkay, 33, a physical therapist.

After the trial, Cinkay said he called Nagy "as soon as I got out the door" and proposed by year's end. Queens Supreme Court Justice Daniel Lewis, who presided over the case, is to marry them next month. (The defendant, by the way, was convicted.)

From Minnesota Lawyer's How Not to Avoid Jury Duty file comes this story from Cape Cod, Mass., about a man who claimed to be a racist homophobic liar to skip jury duty.

The would-be juror, Daniel Ellis, got his wish: he was not chosen to serve on a three-month grand jury. Instead, the judge ordered Ellis taken into custody for possible perjury and other charges.

"In 32 years of service in courtrooms, as a prosecutor, as a defense attorney and now as a judge, I have quite frankly never confronted such a brazen situation of an individual attempting to avoid juror service," wrote Barnstable Superior Court Judge Gary A. Nickerson, according to the Boston Globe.

Here's how it went down:

On a questionnaire that all potential jurors fill out, Ellis wrote that he didn't like homosexuals and blacks. He then echoed those sentiments in an interview with the judge.

"You say on your form that you're not a fan of homosexuals," the judge said.

"That I'm a racist," interrupted Ellis. "I'm frequently found to be a liar, too. I can't really help it."

"I'm sorry?" Nickerson asked.

"I said I'm frequently found to be a liar," Ellis replied.

"So, are you lying to me now?" the judge asked.

"Well, I don't know. I might be," was the response.

Ellis then admitted he really didn't want to serve on a jury.

"I have the distinct impression that you're intentionally trying to avoid jury service," Nickerson said.

"That's true," Ellis answered.

Minnesota Lawyer next week will be publishing an article from our national sister publication, Lawyers USA, on a topic of great weight -- are the scales of justice tipped against obese litigants? (Hey, hey, don't blame me -- they are the ones who came up with that whole scales of justice motif.) While the title may be a lot lighter than the topic, the issue is an interesting one. The piece offers some concrete strategies for combating juror biases against portly plaintiffs.

If anyone has had any experience with this issue and has some local input they would like to add, let us know.