Voir dire is the selection process in which prospective jurors are questioned and challenged to weed out jurors who may hear the case with an inordinate amount of prejudice and bias that lurks in the thinking of every Maryland juror. In most jurisdictions, the potential jurors are examined either by…
Articles Posted in Litigation Strategies
Recorded Statements: Why You Should Not Give and the Possible Exception
Most insurance adjusters tell personal injury lawyers that they need a recorded statement from the lawyer’s client to “firm up liability” or to “assess credibility.” But providing a recorded statement is typically a “loose-tie.” It rarely results in a finding on liability in favor of the accident attorney’s client. Not…
Is Failure to Use a Child Seat Contributory Negligence?
A lawyer in Virginia emailed to ask me if failure to wear a child seat is contributory negligence in Maryland? Setting aside for a moment the abject irresponsibility of this mother who failed to ensure the safety of her child, the answer is no. Maryland Law The Maryland Transportation statute…
Independent Medical Exams: Personal Injury Attorney Cross-Examination of Defendant’s Medical Expert
A few days ago, I wrote about a judge’s article entitled Alice in Discovery Land (A Practical Guide to Recurrent Discovery Problems) that appeared years ago in Maryland Litigator, quoting Judge Smith’s comment about the oxymoronic phrase independent medical exam. Counsel on both sides of the aisle have their own…