Sam Heldman writes:
Doing appellate work on both criminal and civil cases, you notice odd things. For example: The same evidentiary record could be held sufficient to prove a fact beyond a reasonable doubt, yet insufficient to prove the same fact by a “preponderance” standard in a civil case. Strange, but true and disturbing.
Mr. Heldman proves his argument, in an article you can access here.
Then read this post by David Bernstein about an attorney whose girlfriend served on a jury in a civil case he was trying. The judge refused to declare a mistrial. There is support in the case law for the judges decisions. In a Texas case, a prosecutor's girlfriend served on a jury in a criminal case he tried. An en banc court of the Texas Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction.
We'll have to watch this case to see if Texas applies a double-standard when the defendant is Ford Motor Company.
