Question 1
You are working as a paralegal for the law firm that represents one of the families in the Arkansas Bus Collision Case. The supervising attorney asks your opinion on whether to conduct a deposition for the parents of a child who died in the collision face to face or by remote video conferencing (e.g., Zoom™, Webex®).
What are the advantages and disadvantages of conducting the deposition remotely?
What factors do you consider important in deciding whether to conduct a deposition remotely or face to face?
What safeguards should be put in place to prevent improper influence from outsiders during a remote deposition?
How can you help prepare a client for a deposition?
Question 2
Jury voir dire is the selection of a certain number of jurors from a jury panel. The number of jurors required in a case will depend on the court. Voir dire is the way lawyers find out about the prospective jurors. The lawyers (or the judge in certain instances) will ask questions of the jurors to identify qualifications, experiences and interests, knowledge about the case, relationship or familiarity with parties, witnesses, and lawyers involved in the case, and bias or any other reason why a juror should or should not be selected to serve on a jury.
Most often, jury voir dire is conducted through verbal questioning of potential jurors, though in some cases written juror questionnaires may be used to facilitate the selection process.
Questions are asked to determine whether a juror should be removed from the panel because the juror cannot fairly hear and decide the case.
You are working as a paralegal for the law firm that represents one of the families in the Arkansas Bus Collision Case. Draft a minimum of five voir dire questions to help your supervising attorney pick the best jurors for the case. Your questions should relate to the subject matter of the case and focus on issues that could help your supervising attorney determine if a juror might be biased in any way. The questions could be used for both challenges for cause and peremptory challenges. Assume that you are working as a paralegal for the lawyer who represents the plaintiff.
Question 3
Legal drama is a common genre in film and television. Legal dramas often focus on courtroom battles.
What impact do movies and television shows about the law, criminal investigation, and police have on jurors’ expectations?
What is your reaction to movies and television shows that you have seen?
How accurately do these shows portray actual legal controversies?
Question 4
Three attorneys from a prominent New York law firm are flying across the country to California to take depositions on behalf of their client, McKing Burger Joint. All three attorneys have been instructed to bill their travel time to McKing Burger Joint. They are on the plane for a total of six hours.
Attorney 1 is drafting some direct examination questions for the deposition he is taking for Client McKing Burger joint in California. Attorney 2 is working on a trial brief for another client, Cost Mart. Attorney 3 does NO work and is watching Star Wars on his tablet and snacking on chips and a soda.
How much time will Attorney 1 bill to McKing Burger Joint, given the fact that he is performing two different tasks for the same client (i.e., traveling to California and drafting deposition questions)?
How much time can Attorney 2 bill to clients McKing Burger Joint and Cost Mart?
Can Attorney 3 bill McKing Burger Joint for his time on the plane? If so, how much time can he bill to this client?
Question 5
One of the reasons behind the initiative for tort law reform is the number of frivolous lawsuits filed each year. Review the article from the Center for Justice and Democracy at the link. https://www.centerjd.org/faq
Based on your findings, please respond to the following questions on the Discussion Board:
Why do you think the public gets the impression there is an avalanche of frivolous lawsuits?
Do you think this perception is valid?
How might this perception be changed?
Discuss your responses with other students.
Question 6
Read the case Shapero v. Kentucky, in which the Supreme Court held that certain types of lawyer solicitation are protected commercial speech under the First Amendment, and then answer the following questions:
Do you think that letters like those sent by Shapero should be protected speech under the Constitution? Why or why not? In your response, please explain your reasoning.
Do you believe targeted lawyer advertising can be effectively regulated without being totally banned? Why or why not? In your response, please explain your reasoning.
