A jury decides questions of fact in the American legal system. The judge decides questions of law. Both the jury and judge should be fair and impartial. Personal and political opinions are disregarded as a citizen’s case is presented to a jury of his or her peers. Peers are the people who live in the same community who decide the verdict and the fate of the litigants. The government does not decide. The Judge does not decide. The people decide.
This jury system in America is the only legal system in the world that depends on the people to decide whether someone was negligent, or not. This system was placed into our Constitution in 1787 when we won our independence from Britain. The Bill of Rights that are a part of the American Constitution guarantees the right to trial by jury in civil law under Amendment VII.
The facts and the law are presented to the judge and jury in a trial conducted by lawyers on behalf of their clients. That is why some lawyers are trained trial advocates. I was a trial advocate for 37 years in Florida, a state known as one of the best training grounds for trial advocates with some of the best plaintiff and defense lawyers in the country. Florida has always had high profile cases and verdicts.
GLORIABLOG will present both sides of a Tort case to you in A Question of Fact. A tort is an act or omission that results in injury to another. The facts will be presented from the plaintiff’s side (person who sues for injury) and the defendant’s side (person who was sued for causing injury). You can decide whether the plaintiff wins or the defendant wins and cast your vote. You can also comment as to how you reached your decision.
Immerse yourself in a virtual jury room, read the facts, and vote on the verdict. Your decision, as a juror, should not be based upon prejudice or sympathy. Your decision, as every jury across America is instructed, should only be based upon the facts presented in the blog.
The cases presented are drawn from my 37 years as a plaintiff’s lawyer. However, lawyers are trained to see both sides of the case, and my factual presentation will be from both the plaintiff’s side and then the defendant’s side. These are not real cases, and in no way is this blog meant to present real cases. Your participation in this experience does not provide a ruling on a real case.
I hope you enjoy reading these case scenarios and help to solve the imaginary disputes in the Tort legal world.