The Majesty of American Justice.

 Written by: Attorney Peter Decato
Lebanon NH

It was likely in the late 1950's that Norman Rockwell painted a scene called the “Jury Room”.
This picture graced the cover of the Saturday Evening Post and it has hung in my law office for
many years. In this picture, you see a smoke filled room, with one female juror and eleven male
jurors. It is clear what is happening. The female juror is holding out and the eleven men are
furious with her. This jury likely was unable to reach a unanimous verdict and had to tell the judge “they were hung”. As a result, a mistrial had to be declared and the defendant had to be given a new trial. In early February of this year, I lived out the “Jury Room” in a recent criminal case heard in the Grafton County Superior Court.

Defendant  was charged with two counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault. The jury had to decide whether Defendant was guilty of none of the counts, both of the counts or one of the counts. When the jury returned, it found Defendant was not guilty of forcible rape. They reached this verdict quickly and decisively. But, the jury didn’t fare as well with the remaining count - the count alleging that Defendant had sexual intercourse with someone whose consent was not freely given. They hung by a vote of 11-1. This vote caused a mistrial.

 On April 22, 2011, Defendant was found not guilty in 45 minutes of the second charge. Lest you miss what happened here: because a single juror held out in February, two months later, Defendant was able to have a second trial where Defendant was quickly and decisively found not guilty. When Norman Rockwell painted the “Jury Room,” I wonder if he knew that he was painting a portrait showing the majesty of American Justice.

In this country, we are entitled to be judged by a panel of our peers and it is only when our peers are in unanimous agreement that we are found guilty of a crime. 11 votes doesn’t cut it - only 12 does the trick. The Defendant very happy to have this civics lesson and so was I!

IF YOU’RE GOING TO REPRESENT YOURSELF, AT LEAST DO A GOOD JOB

BY: Attorney Peter Decato.
Lebanon NH

    I continue to be intrigued by the statistics:  50%-75% of the cases on file in our local courts (New Hampshire and Vermont) have at least one contestant who appears on their own behalf (as in representing themselves).  While representing oneself is a person’s right, I offer one admonishment: if you are going to represent yourself, at least do a good job!

    To help you do a good job, you should seek advice from an attorney. We can give you advice whether you are the person who brought the action or whether you are on the defense. 

    I don’t know why so many people want to represent themselves.  I can’t quite figure it all out.  I’m sure, though, for many people, it has to do with costs.  If being frugal is leading you to represent yourself, then how much more frugal can you be than to buy just a few hours of a lawyer’s time?  Investing in a few hours of a lawyer’s time can often be the difference between a well prepared litigant and a poorly prepared one.

    For those of you who are considering suing someone without the help of an attorney, I have a quiz for you.  I will wait until you get a pad and paper.........Are you ready?  Please assume you’ve been involved in a “fender-bender.”  As a result, your clunker (a 2000 Ford pickup) has been totaled.  You’ve received some personal injuries, but you’re not certain of the full extent.  You’ve lost two weeks of work and you expect to lose some more work in the future as you attend doctor’s appointments, undergo an MRI, etc.  Please answer the following:

    1.    Where can you bring suit?  What are the jurisdictional limits of our courts?
    2.    Can you simply fill out a form when bringing suit or must you say something definite covering a variety of subjects (e.g., duty, breach, causation and damage)?
    3.    Do you have to say your opponent caused the accident?
    4.    Do you have to indicate what your damages are, when you really don’t know yourself?
    5.    After suit is brought, can you ask your opponent questions?  Can you obtain documents from them?  How do you get information from other people (like the investigating police officer)? 
    6.    You’ve received some questions from your opponent and some of the questions seem very personal and totally unnecessary (e.g., they want to know if you are having sexual relations).  Do you have to answer these questions?    How can you avoid answering questions in an appropriate situation?
    7.    Do you have to wait to go to trial or can you file a motion with the court asking for judgment “summarily.”  Are there shortcuts to getting to where you want to get?
    8.    Once the final hearing arrives, what do you do?  Who do you call as witnesses?  How do you ask them questions?  How do you question your opponent?  (By the way, your opponent has a “fancy lawyer” from the “big city”).
    9.    How do you prove what your clunker was worth?
    10.    What do you do with your medical bills?  How do you get them into evidence?
    11.    How do you get your doctor to testify?  He/she is telling you they are way too busy to come to court. 

    How do you think you did on this test?  I suspect you got some questions “right” and some questions “wrong.”  If you got any questions wrong, you could benefit from a consultation.  If you got them all wrong, you better get in here right now!

    The quiz I gave you dealt with a personal injury case, but I could have given you a quiz on a case involving a breach of contract, a divorce, or a defamation case or any other type of case.  Whatever the case, there are court rules and court procedures to know about.  It can get a bit complicated, but it isn’t so complicated that you can’t figure out what to do.

    Remember: if you’re going to represent yourself, at least do a good job.  As you know, when you’re not well prepared, a person who represents themselves has a fool for a client.