What If The Jury Hates Me?

I purposefully refrained from commenting on the Casey Anthony Trial because I do not believe that a lawyer should comment on a case without knowing all the pertinent facts. I am not familar with Florida law despite growing up there. Nevertheless, my family still calls me about legal issues there.

As a Houston Criminal Lawyer I never thought that I would find an article in People Magazine to be of any use professionally. I was quite surprised by the revelation of one of the jurors in the Casey Anthony case. In this People Magazine interview the juror reveals that the jury unanimously disliked her, but the State failed to prove any of the more serious charges against her. This is a credit to that particular jury because too many juries fail to focus on the facts presented.

Despite these revelations I still find it helpful for a client to be liked by a jury. I realize that in some cases like when a client chooses not to testify they do not have much control over that, but acting appropriately, looking engaged, and remaining respectful is the minimum that jurors expect from anyone that is on trial.