Category: Justice

  • Jury Duty and Lessons Learned

    Jury Duty and Lessons Learned

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    Leo
    in

    Jury deliberations tested my expertise in negotiation and conflict resolution. Legal language like “substantial motivating reason” caused confusion, leading to deadlocks. Some jurors resisted logic outright, while others were too fatigued to argue. The defense attorney’s strategy? Overwhelm us with irrelevant testimony. The plaintiff’s attorney? Frame questions in ways that guaranteed resistance. In the end,…

  • Jury Deliberation and Social Dynamics

    Jury Deliberation and Social Dynamics

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    by

    Leo
    in

    Jury deliberations split into two camps—pro-plaintiff and pro-defendant—while a shifting group of undecided jurors kept us deadlocked. The pro-plaintiff side argued their case, but the pro-defendant group largely refused to explain their stance beyond insisting the defendant did nothing wrong. In the end, we reached a compromise: a small financial award, not as compensation, but…

  • Jury Duty and Workplace Dysfunction

    Jury Duty and Workplace Dysfunction

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    Leo
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    I was sure my union background would get me dismissed from jury duty, but I made it onto the jury anyway. The case? A workplace termination that exposed how HR often takes the fall for executive mismanagement. Neither side presented a strong case, and the real issue was clear: had leadership acted decisively, there wouldn’t…

  • Are courts really fair?

    Are courts really fair?

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    Leo
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    Sitting in a jury selection room, I kept hearing the same question: Can you be fair? The word “fair” carries emotional weight, yet the court seems to use it as a stand-in for impartiality. But can a juror truly judge laws they don’t fully understand? Observing the process, I realized fairness is more complex than…

  • American Gestapo

    American Gestapo

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    by

    Leo
    in ,

    My favorite radio news show is called Background Briefing. I usually listen on the drive home from work. Yesterday’s episode (August 19, 2019) included host Ian Masters interviewing Mike German, a former agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty and National Security Program. According to…