Kaiser Blog

Federal Rule of Evidence 704(b) precludes an expert witness in a criminal case from stating an opinion as to whether the defendant “did or did not have a mental state or condition that constitutes an element of the crime charged or of a defense.” It adds, “Those matters are for the trier of fact alone.” […]

Typically, no—someone can’t be sued for defamatory statements if those statements were made in a judicial proceeding.  But can an alleged victim—or any other witness, for that matter—be sued for defamation for their testimony at a quasi-judicial hearing? It depends on how quasi. Last summer, the Connecticut Supreme Court, in Khan v. Yale, et al., ruled […]

Last month, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in Missouri Department of Corrections v. Finney in part because the lawyers failed to preserve their objections in jury selection.  It reminded me how easy it can be for good lawyers to flub this really important aspect of their trials. Jean Finney successfully sued her employer, the Missouri […]

It’s every lawyer’s nightmare: You are representing a client in an intense litigation or negotiation and she dies suddenly. It can be heartbreaking, especially in a longstanding lawyer-client relationship or where the lawyer was working closely with a client on a matter that was important to the client personally. But what is the lawyer to […]