Filed: Sep. 01, 2015
Latest Update: Sep. 01, 2015
Summary: ORDER J. THOMAS RAY , Magistrate Judge . On August 25, 2015, the Court received an email from counsel for Defendant, Town & Country Grocer of Fredericktown Missouri, Incorporated ("Town & Country"), requesting permission, under Local Rule 47.1, "to contact some jurors to get opinions on how they viewed some of the evidence in the case." 1 While the Court generally allows attorneys to speak with jurors, after they have rendered their verdict, it has developed a number of rules that attorn
Summary: ORDER J. THOMAS RAY , Magistrate Judge . On August 25, 2015, the Court received an email from counsel for Defendant, Town & Country Grocer of Fredericktown Missouri, Incorporated ("Town & Country"), requesting permission, under Local Rule 47.1, "to contact some jurors to get opinions on how they viewed some of the evidence in the case." 1 While the Court generally allows attorneys to speak with jurors, after they have rendered their verdict, it has developed a number of rules that attorne..
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ORDER
J. THOMAS RAY, Magistrate Judge.
On August 25, 2015, the Court received an email from counsel for Defendant, Town & Country Grocer of Fredericktown Missouri, Incorporated ("Town & Country"), requesting permission, under Local Rule 47.1, "to contact some jurors to get opinions on how they viewed some of the evidence in the case."1
While the Court generally allows attorneys to speak with jurors, after they have rendered their verdict, it has developed a number of rules that attorneys must follow in performing this task. These rules are designed to balance the attorneys' interest in learning how the jury evaluated the evidence and their arguments at trial, with the jurors' interest in not being harassed or unduly burdened by questions from the lawyers.
First, counsel for Town & Country must provide the Court and Mr. Dreyer, within seven days from the entry of this Order, with the specific questions that they propose to ask those jurors who may be willing to talk with them about the case. Mr. Dreyer will be allowed fourteen days to make objections to those questions. The Court will then review the proposed questions, along with any objections, and let Town & Country's counsel know whether they may ask all or only some of those questions.
Second, after the questions have been finalized, the Court will write each juror a letter notifying them that: (1) attorneys for Town & Country would like to talk with them, individually, about the trial; (2) they are under no obligation to talk with Town & Country's attorneys and their decision to do so is strictly up to them; and (3) any of them who are willing to talk with Town & Country's attorneys about the case should contact Shauna Bostic and let her know the time of day they would prefer to be contacted and the phone number the attorneys should call to make contact with them.
Those jurors who contact Ms. Bostic and express a willingness to talk with counsel for Town & Country will be given a copy of the approved questions they will be asked about the trial. This should help those jurors to provide more thoughtful and meaningful responses to those questions when they are contacted by Town & Country's counsel.
Ms. Bostic will then provide counsel for Town & Country with the names, phone numbers, and best contact times for those jurors who are willing to talk with them about the case. After receiving this information from Ms. Bostic, counsel for Town & Country can contact only those jurors who have indicated a willingness to talk with them about the case. The only questions that Town & country's counsel can ask those jurors are the ones previously approved by the Court.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Exhibit A
Hogland v. Town and Country
Jonathan Baker
to:
Paul_Wood@ared.uscourts.gov
08/25/2015 10:13 AM
Cc:
Steve Heil, Roger Dreyer, Brett McDaniel
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From: Jonathan Baker <jbaker@barberlawfirm.com>
To: "Paul_Wood@ared.uscourts.gov" <Paul_Wood@ared.uscourts.gov>,
Cc: Steve Heil <swh@crayhuber.com>, Roger Dreyer <rdreyer@dbbwc.com>, Brett
McDaniel <brettmcdaniel@mcdanielandwells.com>
History: This message has been replied to.
Paul,
I am writing to seek permission from the Court to contact some jurors to get opinions on how they
viewed some of the evidence in this case. I am wondering if a pleading is needed by Judge Ray or if
there is another avenue of permission he prefers. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks,
JONATHAN E. BAKER
ATTORNEY AT LAW
BARBER LAW FIRM, PLLC
2700 Regions Center
400 West Capitol Avenue
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
Direct | 501.707.6148
Company | 501.372.6175
Facsimile | 501.375.2802
www.barberlawfirm.com
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