September 2007

 

Lawyers from Lay and Skilling Trial Debate Adequacy of Jury Selection

Did the defendants get a biased jury, or was justice served?
At its Annual Conference in San Antonio this past spring, the Section of Litigation presented a program, “Trying the Corporate Case of the Century,” conducted by the lead attorneys who prosecuted and defended the trial of Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, former chief executives of Enron Corporation.

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Personal Notes Used by Witness Do Not Always Mean Waiver

Spectrum of decisions applying Rule of Evidence 612(2) creates uncertainty
A federal court has ruled that a plaintiff who reviewed his own personal notes to prepare for his deposition did not have to produce those notes to opposing counsel, despite the presumptive disclosure required under Federal Rule of Evidence 612(2).

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Circuit Split Developing Over Requisite Level of Culpability for Adverse Inference Instruction

Courts disagree whether spoliation must be intentional or merely negligent
More courts are weighing in on the level of culpability necessary to warrant adverse inference instructions for spoliation of evidence in discovery, but they have yet to reach a consensus as to what kind of discovery violations will trigger sanctions.

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