LetMyPeopleVote
LetMyPeopleVote's JournalThe science of jury selection
I am not a litigator but I originated a nice corporate law/breach of contract/securities fraud case that had some good damages and a solvent defendant. I referred the case to a top plaintiff's firm and got to see the jury selection process up close. The plaintiff firm hired a top jury consultant and spent a ton on jury selection. The jury consultant and the plaintiff firm did two full mini trials with juries selected to mirror the population and then questioned the mock jurors to see which arguments the mock jurors found compelling. It was an interesting experience, and it is going to be fun watching the jury selection process for TFG's trial. This segment on the Katy Phang show was amusing.
https://twitter.com/katiephangshow/status/1779187812971000194
The case that I originated was my type of case and I had drafted most of the pleadings and a couple of summary judgment motions that were pending at the time of trial. I knew that the jury consultant had a shadow jury that was going to watch the trial and give the trial team feedback on the trial. I was out for High Holy Days during the first part of the jury selection (the litigators were comfortable that I was not needed for this part of the trial). I got to the court room after attending services the prior day to find out that the judge had ruled in our favor on the main summary judgement motion and that the only issue to be tried was attorney fees. The other side stipulated to attorney fees and we spent 6 years in appeals until we settle the case on great terms. I ended up doing some corporate work for the jury consultant.
A criminal trial is different from a civil trial and I doubt that there were any mock trials but many of the same principles apply. I suspect that TFG's attorneys have a jury consultant who will be looking at the social media postings of the potential jurors during the selection process.
The jury selection process will be fun to watch. Again, the methods used in civil case are different than what will be used in TFG's criminal case but some of the science will apply. Both the prosecution team and TFG's teams will have a profile that they want in the jurors sitting in this case
In plot to oust speaker, Marjorie Taylor Greene is short on friends
A grand total of zero GOP members have publicly endorsed Marjorie Taylor Greene’s effort to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson. It’s worth appreciating why.
https://twitter.com/dphtkr/status/1778823997456843137
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/plot-oust-speaker-marjorie-taylor-greene-short-friends-rcna147556
Trump world isn’t happy with Greene’s threat to throw the House GOP into chaos once again. There’s a fear that an election-year speakership battle will undercut the party’s goals of keeping the House and flipping the White House and Senate. “100 percent distraction. Unwanted. And just stupid,” one Trump insider told Playbook last night.
The report quoted another person close with Trump who added that the former president’s operation has grown weary of the constant motion-to-vacate threats. “It’s no way to run a party,” the source said.
But just as important is the fact that no one in the House Republican conference, including Greene, has any idea who could replace Johnson — the GOP’s fifth choice for speaker after contingents within the party rejected the other nominees. Axios reported:
House Republicans are vocal about not wanting to repeat last fall’s chaotic, protracted speaker vacancy, with many acknowledging there may be no alternative to the current speaker. One House Republican told Axios any vacancy would “devolve” into chaos, with “nobody” seen as prepared to step into Johnson’s shoes. “There is no one,” the lawmaker said.
Republican Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas, for example, said he wants to keep Johnson in office, not because of his deep support for the Louisianan, but because “nobody wants the job. Who wants the job? And who could do the job?”....
In other words, the beleaguered House speaker appears likely to prevail — at least for now — not because he’s done a good job and earned the respect of his colleagues, but because his party doesn’t want to deal with the power vacuum that would be left in his wake.
Despite lengthy to-do list, GOP reps eye work on home appliances
Congress has a lot of real and important work to do. So why are Republicans poised to focus on silly home-appliance bills?
https://twitter.com/stevebenen/status/1778778275008901355
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/lengthy-list-gop-reps-eye-work-home-appliances-rcna147538
But that’s just the start. Members also have work to do on providing funding to repair the Key Bridge in Baltimore, reauthorizing the soon-to-expire Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), deciding what to do with a child tax credit expansion, completing work on a possible TikTok bill, reauthorizing the FAA, finishing work on a rail-safety bill, and wrapping up work on the impeachment case against the Homeland Security secretary.
But it’s against this backdrop that the GOP-led House Rules Committee — which tends to be the last stop for bills before they reach the House floor for final votes — unveiled its schedule for next week. These are the actual bills — I’m not kidding — that the panel will take up on Monday and send to the floor for consideration from the full House.
H.R. 6192 — Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act
H.R. 7673 — Liberty in Laundry Act
H.R. 7645 — Clothes Dryers Reliability Act
H.R. 7637 — Refrigerator Freedom Act
H.R. 7626 — Affordable Air Conditioning Act
H.R. 7700 — Stop Unaffordable Dishwasher Standards Act
As Democratic Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia wrote via social media, in reference to the list of bills, “This is real. This is actually what Republicans are preparing to spend next week on in the House. Really.”.....
House GOP members tend not to like rolling up their sleeves and doing the unglamorous work of solving problems. It’s far more satisfying and entertaining to tee up the “Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act” — which will no doubt make for delightful fundraising letters and several Fox News segments — while real priorities in need of Republicans’ attention wither.
'Poor Marge': MTG mocked after report suggests she lost $32K by investing in Trump Media
MTG is one of the idiots who lost money in DJT
https://twitter.com/RawStory/status/1778843607266459821
https://www.rawstory.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-trump-stock/
Greene wouldn't respond to questions from CNBC or NBC News about her holdings in Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC), which merged with Trump Media and saw its share price drop at least 45 percent to date, NBC News reported.
Greene, along with Indiana GOP Rep. Larry Bucshon, revealed they bought stock in the company in October 2021 — the same month it announced the merger with Trump Media.
Just days after the announcement, Greene bought shares of DWAC ranging from $15,000 to $50,000. As NBC News points out, if Greene is still an investor in the company, she would have lost up to $32,000. Bucshon could have lost up to $8,900.
The importance of punctuation (Commas save lives)
https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1778736821628961189Mike Luckovich-How to become TFG's VP
https://twitter.com/mluckovichajc/status/1778759249054646622
(Jewish Group) Trump seems to think he can badger Jewish voters into backing him
Donald Trump seems to believe he's entitled to greater support from Jewish voters. The more they disagree, the more he feels justified in lashing out.
https://twitter.com/MarcuswevansSr/status/1778471880342810979
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-seems-think-can-badger-jewish-voters-backing-rcna147425
This attitude continues to produce ugly results. Last summer, for example, the Republican used his social media platform to share a missive that accused “liberal Jews” of voting to “destroy” America and Israel. Last month, as NBC News reported, Trump went further, invoking a dual loyalty trope by claiming that Jewish voters who support Democrats “hate Israel.”.....
A day later, as a New York Times report noted, he kept the offensive going.
Former President Donald J. Trump once again criticized Jews who back Democratic candidates on Wednesday, saying that “any Jewish person that votes for a Democrat or votes for Biden should have their head examined.”
The Republican went on to insist that Biden, who’s faced fierce criticisms for his support of Israel, has “totally abandoned Israel.”
Stepping back, Trump seems convinced that if he simply badgers Jewish voters enough, maybe they’ll change their minds and support his candidacy......
The more Jews back Biden, the more the former president feels justified lashing out at those who’ve failed to meet his expectations. If Trump believes this will convince Jewish voters to change their political views, he’s likely to be disappointed.
I admit that I am amused when TFG attacks Jewish voters for not supporting him
Trump seems to think he can badger Jewish voters into backing him
Donald Trump seems to believe he's entitled to greater support from Jewish voters. The more they disagree, the more he feels justified in lashing out.
https://twitter.com/MarcuswevansSr/status/1778471880342810979
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-seems-think-can-badger-jewish-voters-backing-rcna147425
This attitude continues to produce ugly results. Last summer, for example, the Republican used his social media platform to share a missive that accused “liberal Jews” of voting to “destroy” America and Israel. Last month, as NBC News reported, Trump went further, invoking a dual loyalty trope by claiming that Jewish voters who support Democrats “hate Israel.”.....
A day later, as a New York Times report noted, he kept the offensive going.
Former President Donald J. Trump once again criticized Jews who back Democratic candidates on Wednesday, saying that “any Jewish person that votes for a Democrat or votes for Biden should have their head examined.”
The Republican went on to insist that Biden, who’s faced fierce criticisms for his support of Israel, has “totally abandoned Israel.”
Stepping back, Trump seems convinced that if he simply badgers Jewish voters enough, maybe they’ll change their minds and support his candidacy......
The more Jews back Biden, the more the former president feels justified lashing out at those who’ve failed to meet his expectations. If Trump believes this will convince Jewish voters to change their political views, he’s likely to be disappointed.
I admit that I am amused when TFG attacks Jewish voters for not supporting him
Even now, RNC prioritizes election denialism as 2024 race takes shape
RNC Co-Chair Lara Trump recently said the party is leaving 2020 election conspiracy theories "in the past." There's fresh evidence that she didn't mean it.
https://twitter.com/pjmooney/status/1778512009535099305
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/even-now-rnc-prioritizes-election-denialism-2024-race-takes-shape-rcna147386
No, really, that’s what they said — as if embracing transparent nonsense for which there is literally no evidence is emblematic of someone who excels in critical thinking.
But wait, there’s more. CNN reported:
The Republican National Committee last week sent out a scripted call to voters’ phones on behalf of new co-chair Lara Trump saying Democrats committed “massive fraud” in the 2020 election. It’s the latest example of how the RNC under the former president’s daughter-in-law is perpetuating lies about the 2020 election, even as prominent Republicans say the party needs to look forward to win in 2024.
What was that Lara Trump was saying about the party leaving its bonkers conspiracy theories “in the past”?
Stepping back, there’s no shortage of Republican insiders who desperately want Donald Trump and his team to move past their focus on 2020, if for no other reason than to appeal to mainstream voters who have no use for such a message.
But for reasons the former president and his political operation haven’t yet explained in a coherent way, they just can’t seem to help themselves.
Feigning credibility on abortion, Trump revises his revisions
What the public should do is watch what Donald Trump does, not what he says — and what he’s done is take steps to end Americans’ reproductive rights.
https://twitter.com/gardner190/status/1778423309517897925
Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the Arizona Supreme Court went too far in ruling the state’s 160-year-old near-total abortion ban can be enforced. Trump made the comment as he spoke to reporters after he landed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport ahead of a campaign fundraiser.
Asked about whether the Arizona court’s justices went too far, the former president said, “Yeah, they did,” though he quickly added, “That’ll be straightened out, and as you know it’s all about states’ rights.”
During the brief Q&A, Trump proceeded to use the phrase “states’ rights” repeatedly, as if he’d stumbled onto a magical maxim that solves all of his problems......
A Biden campaign spokesperson said after the former president’s latest rhetoric, “Trump lies constantly — about everything — but has one track record: banning abortion every chance he gets. ... The guy who wants to be a dictator on day one will use every tool at his disposal to ban abortion nationwide, with or without Congress, and running away from reporters to his private jet like a coward doesn’t change that reality.”
The part about Trump’s dishonesty is of particular interest. The Republican’s rhetoric has been all over the place — for weeks, months, years, and decades — suggesting that his claims and assurances are utterly meaningless.
What the public should do is watch what he does, not what he says — and what he’s done is take steps to end Americans’ reproductive rights.
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