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REPORTER'S RECORD
TRIAL COURT CAUSE NO. 2015-DCV-0235-B
THERESA GAMEZ,
PLAINTIFF
V.
DILLON TRANSPORT, INC.;
DILLON TRANSPORT, INC.,
IN ITS COMMON OR ASSUMED
NAME;
KENNETH EUGENE JENNINGS
AND
MIGUEL A. GARCIA, SR.,
DEFENDANTS
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IN THE DISTRICT COURT
117TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT
NUECES COUNTY, TEXAS
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_________________________
VOIR DIRE
__________________________
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On the 2nd day of December, 2015, the
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following proceedings came on to be heard in the
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above-entitled and numbered cause before the HONORABLE
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SANDRA L. WATTS, Judge Presiding, held in Corpus
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Christi, Nueces County, Texas:
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Proceedings reported by Machine Shorthand.
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SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
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APPEARANCES:
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MR. WILLIAM R. EDWARDS III
SBOT NO. 06465010
ANGELINA BELTRAN
SBOT NO. 02111700
The Edwards Law Firm
Frost Bank Plaza
802 North Carancahua Street, Suite 1400
Corpus Christi, Texas 78401
Telephone: 361-698-7600
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ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF
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MR. ALEJANDRO BLANCO
California Bar No. 133073
The Blanco Law Firm, P.C.
535 North Brand Boulevard, Suite 700
Glendale, California 91203
Telephone: 661-948-6000
and
MR. CRAIG S. SMITH
SBOT NO. 18553570
Law Offices of Craig S. Smith
14493 SPID, Suite A, PMB 240
Corpus Christi, Texas 78418
Telephone: 361-728-8037
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ATTORNEYS FOR CROSS PLAINTIFF, MIGUEL A. GARCIA, SR.
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MR. LARRY D. WARREN
SBOT NO. 20888450
Naman, Howell, Smith & Lee, PLLC
1001 Reunion Place, Suite 600
San Antonio, Texas 78218
Telephone: 210-731-6350
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ATTORNEY FOR DEFENDANT, DILLON TRANSPORT, INC.
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MR. DOUGLAS CHAVES
SBOT NO. 04161400
MR. AIDAN PERALES
SBOT NO. 24027604
Chaves, Obregon & Perales, LLP
802 North Carancahua, Suite 2100
Corpus Christi, Texas 78401
Telephone: 361-884-5400
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ATTORNEYS FOR DEFENDANT KENNETH EUGENE JENNINGS
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Index
Voir Dire
December 2, 2015
Page
Court Calls Case........................
Announcements by Counsel................
Court's Opening Remarks and Instructions
General Voir Dire by Mr. Edwards........
Jury Panel Excused for Noon Recess......
Discussion with Some Panel Members......
Noon Recess.............................
Discussion with Additional Panel Member.
General Voir Dire Resumes
By Mr. Edwards (continues).............
By Mr. Blanco..........................
By Mr. Chaves..........................
By Mr. Warren..........................
Jury Recessed...........................
Challenges for Cause....................
Attorneys Prepare Strikes...............
Court Speaks to Panel...................
Jury Selected and Seated................
Remaining Panel Excused.................
Jury Oath Administered..................
Instructions by the Court...............
Jury Recessed for Evening...............
Voir Dire Concluded.....................
Court Reporter's Certification..........
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104
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P R O C E E D I N G S
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(December 2, 2015)
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(Jury panel seated in courtroom.)
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THE COURT:
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THE BAILIFF:
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THE COURT:
Mr. Gallegos, all present?
Yes, Judge.
All right.
At this time, the
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Court is going to call 15-0235-B, Theresa Gamez versus
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Dillon Transport, Inc., Kenneth Eugene Jennings and
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Miguel A. Garcia, Jr.
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Announcements from the
plaintiffs, please.
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MR. EDWARDS:
Your Honor, Theresa Gamez.
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I'm Billy Edwards and my law partner, Angie Beltran and
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we are ready.
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THE COURT:
All right.
I was gonna
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introduce you, but if you want to introduce yourselves,
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you may do so.
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For the defendant and cross plaintiff,
please.
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MR. SMITH:
Miguel Garcia --
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THE COURT:
Miguel Garcia --
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MR. SMITH:
-- Craig Smith and Alejandro
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Blanco for Miguel Garcia who's standing right here.
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THE COURT:
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MR. WARREN:
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And for Dillon Transport, Inc.
Yes, Your Honor.
Thank you.
Larry Warren along with Mr. Jeff Parker of Dillon
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Transport and assisting me is Mr. Kim Dixon.
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THE COURT:
And for defendant,
Kenneth Eugene Jennings.
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MR. CHAVES:
Good morning.
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Douglas Chaves.
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and Patty Mase from my office.
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Kenneth Jennings.
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My name is
I, along with my partner, Aidan Perales
We represent
Raise your hand, Kenneth.
THE COURT:
All right.
Good morning.
have been waiting anxiously for you to come up.
We
You-all
may be seated.
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MR. WARREN:
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THE COURT:
Thank you, Your Honor.
Welcome to the 117th District
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Court.
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you can see by the number of attorneys and litigants
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here, and the number that we've called, it was -- it's
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imperative that we try it in what we call, the
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litigation courtroom, which is on the fifth floor.
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will be our home for the duration of this case.
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Ordinarily home is on the ninth floor, but as
My name is Sandra Watts and I am the
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presiding judge of the 117th District Court.
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first thing I want to do is I want to welcome you.
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This
And the
Now, I know about two or three weeks ago
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you got that summons and there is a collective sigh in
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Nueces County when the summons reach our citizens.
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all have the same reaction and that is, oh, I've got
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
We
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jury duty.
And I have -- I get jury duty summons and I
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get the same reaction that you might have had.
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tell you that we try to plan for your inconvenience and
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we are here to tell you up front, we know that you are
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being inconvenienced from your jobs, from your family,
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from your homes, et cetera, but you are about important
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business here today.
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You live in a free country and the way that we resolve
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disputes in this free country of ours is through the
I will
And I do mean to emphasize that.
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jury system.
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resolution method that exists.
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the first five books of the Bible you will find that it
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is the nations of Israel called upon their elders,
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citizens resolving disputes for citizens.
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And it is the best, by far, dispute
And if you were to go to
By 500 B.C., the Greeks had in place a
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system where the privileged or those -- the privileged
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resolved disputes that they had among themselves.
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the Romans did what they did best.
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conquerors.
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plagiarized the best ideas of those civilizations as
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they went to the far reaches of the western and the
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eastern Roman Empire, from Turkey to England.
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Then
They were the
And as they conquered civilizations they
By the fourth century, in England, there --
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the nobles had a dispute resolution method by which the
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-- the nobles who would have disputes would, in effect,
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resolve those disputes.
Citizens resolving disputes for
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other citizens.
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other words, from the 300's, the fourth century, until
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the 13th century, when John I of England had a
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revelation -- he probably had a revelation and I'm sure
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other monarchs had it before him, think of the advantage
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he would have if it was the crown that resolved disputes
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between two nobles, or think of the advantage that the
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crown would have if it was the crown resolving a dispute
It was in place for 800 years.
In
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with a noble.
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jury that the nobles have had in place for 800 years.
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The nobles rose up in a coup d'etat at Runnymede and the
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result was the king backed down, and we had the first
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written democratic document, the Magna Carta in 1215.
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And it is there that you're going to find the phrase
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that every man deserves to be tried by his peers.
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Folks, you are the peers here today.
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best system because you have no dog in this hunt.
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King John, you have not -- no one's influenced you.
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probably don't know anybody in this room.
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maybe you don't.
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anything about this case.
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any idea what this case is about.
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best jury.
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So by edict, he did away with trial by
And this is the
As
You
Maybe you do,
No one has tried to talk to you about
You may not, in effect, have
That's why you're the
Now, we have to know that that jury system,
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that became part of our civilized democratic documents
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the Magna Carta, when the pilgrims, which mainly came
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from the Western European nations, they brought those
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all the way across in those rickety books -- rickety
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boats, I might say, to the colonies.
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primitive colonial America there was trial by jury,
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trial by citizens instead of government.
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And even in
Now, we know there were lots of disputes
with England because we fought a war with them, the
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Revolutionary War.
But what few people realized that
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one of the reasons for fighting the war with England was
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not just no representation without -- no taxation
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without representation.
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the crown of trial by jury in the colonies.
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George III, he tried to deal with this restless
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population in the colonies by doing what a lot of
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monarchs do, impose more restrictions, more regulations,
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and the result was he passed a series of Stamp Acts.
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And that Stamp Act, one of the parts of that Stamp Act
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was that all dispute s with England would be handled in
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England in the courts at Bailey -- on Bailey Street.
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other words, literally denying the right to bring
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disputes against the crown in the colonies, and also,
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the denial of trial by jury, a dispute resolution by
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citizens.
It was because of the denial of
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
The crown,
In
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That war was fought and it was successful,
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and in 1787, the Constitution was passed.
And it was
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ratified by the requisite number of states.
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there was a glaring omission in the Constitution.
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Because the Constitution dealt with the structure and
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the form of government.
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the people," in the preamble, you can't find our rights
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in the basic body of the Constitution.
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afterwards in 1789, the Bill of Rights was passed, all
However,
And with the exception of "we,
But two years
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10 first amendments to the Constitution know -- are
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called the Bill of Rights and that's where you and I
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find our rights.
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Constitution that you will find the right of trial by
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jury in criminal cases, and it is in the Seventh
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Amendment in the federal Constitution that you will find
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it for civil cases.
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It is in the Sixth Amendment to the
Now, we from Texas like to think we were
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right up there, we were leading the brigades, we were
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one of the radicals up there before the revolution.
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we were Johnny-come-lately to the United States of
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America because we had unresolved issues with Mexico.
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And in 1836, those resolutions, or, I would say, those
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disputes came to a head when the Texans declared their
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independence.
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the Spanish -- I mean under Mexico, we had a system that
But
And in primitive Texas territory, under
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you are here about today.
And I know that because in
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the Texas declaration of the Constitution it's probably
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one of the best paragraphs and explanations of trial by
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jury.
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being fought because of the refusal of the Mexican
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government to secure on a firm basis, not even the
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denial, but the refusal to secure on a firm basis the
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right of trial by jury.
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period there.
Those writers said that this war with Mexico was
Being Texans, we did not put a
We put a comma, and we said, the right of
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trial by jury, that palladium of all civil liberties.
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We put another comma and we said, in the only safe
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guarantee of life, liberty and property.
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The palladium means this.
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structure on which all other rights can be enforced.
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That's the importance of this trial by jury, not by
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government.
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undeniable constitutional right to trial by jury in all
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civil and criminal cases in Texas.
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It is the
That war was successful and we have an
In 19 -- 80 years ago, 1930, the Texas
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legislature met and created the 117th District Court.
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The district court is the basic trial court in Texas,
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and that is why you have been summoned today in this
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long history of resolution of disputes to help us
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resolve a dispute that we have here today.
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Now, I want to go back to your
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inconvenience to tell you that it's a lot better now.
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We plan for your inconvenience.
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notice that this is happening and you're gonna get an
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opportunity to do your civic duty.
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We give you advance
Back then, in the early courts, if I need
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-- if I was the judge back then, and we needed a jury, I
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sent the bailiff out into the hallways of the
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courthouse.
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the bailiff would tap you on the shoulder while you were
And I would say, go find me a jury.
And
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paying your taxes, while you were getting a survey for
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your property, doing whatever county business that you
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have and said, we need you now in the 117th to serve on
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a jury.
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selection.
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it the jury wheel, and your number comes up, and you are
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given that summons and then you come to the courthouse
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to do what a lot of citizens have done in the past and
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what we hope will be available to you in the future
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where your peers will help resolve disputes.
So we've come a long way.
It's a random
It's all done by computer.
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We used to call
So that gives you an idea that we've got a
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dispute here.
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a dispute.
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to select 12, plus two alternates, fair and impartial
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jurors to hear this case and resolve the dispute, okay?
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You would not be here if we did not have
And you as the -- what we're here about is
Now, I know you're all gung ho about now
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serving that we have gone through the importance of this
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system.
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But let me tell you about what it means to
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be a juror.
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jurors and we as lawyers think we know what that means,
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what it is, and it really means that you have no
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preconceived idea of bias about the nature of this case
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or the people that are in involved in this case, and
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that you can follow the law.
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We're looking for 12 fair and impartial
So let's start there with
following the law.
When you are called as a juror, you are the
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ones that are going to decide the disputed facts and you
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have literally a lot of discretion in doing that.
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can believe everything a witness says, you can reject
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everything a witness says, or you can pick and choose
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what you believe to be the facts, okay?
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have a maverick in the jury room saying, I can't follow
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that law, I don't agree with that, I'm not going to.
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need to know that now because there will be a lot of
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time and energy invested in getting here and also in
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picking your -- this jury and also trying this case.
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And one of the requirements of a juror, you must be able
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to follow the law.
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that are in dispute, but I'm going to give you the law
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that you will apply to that fact and you must be able to
You
But I cannot
We
You're gonna determine the facts
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follow that.
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gonna do right now.
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And some of that will happen, what we're
So, 12 fair and impartial.
Now, I will tell you up front, I am 69
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years of age, okay.
Hopefully, at my age, I have
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thought about a few things.
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positions on a few things because of my experiences, the
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experiences of my family or the experiences -- or what
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I've read or what I believe.
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those opinions.
Okay.
I may even have strong
You are entitled to all of
But when you serve as a juror,
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those opinions don't decide the case.
What decides the
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case is the evidence that is brought into this courtroom
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by the litigants and the lawyers for you to hear,
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evaluate, and give weight and -- weight and value to it,
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all right?
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does not mean you can't serve on a jury.
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you would have hoped I would have thought something.
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But when I served as a juror, I have to put aside all of
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those positions or strong opinions.
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What has a place in this courtroom is what you hear and
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see in this courtroom and then you make a determination
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as far as giving weight and value to what you see.
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Okay.
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the bottom line is, despite that opinion, can you still
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be fair and impartial?
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looking for.
But just because you have a strong opinion
Like I say,
They have no place.
So just because you have an opinion, remember,
An open mind is what we're
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This process that we're about ready to
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begin is called the voir dire.
That's a French term, to
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speak the truth, and the ones we are asking to speak the
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truth today are you, okay?
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to give true answers to questions asked about you
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regarding your suitability to sit as a juror in a case,
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and in fact, in this case.
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here with us today.
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to was that little piece of card that you gave some
You took an oath on Monday
That is an oath that's still
What you have filled out and signed
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basic information.
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the lawyers have, and they can ask you questions from
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that basic information or they can go beyond that basic
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information and delve into other areas.
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have a job to do.
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73 prospective jurors.
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this one, I want that one.
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process.
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this process works is the lawyers ask questions, you
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give the answers.
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Those -- that information I have,
These lawyers
That job is, we are sitting here with
This is not a process of, I want
It is not a selection
It is an elimination process.
And the way
Now, there are two people that are
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important in this courtroom, one was the bailiff, you've
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already met Art Gallegos.
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and you.
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them to Mr. Gallegos and then he brings them to my
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attention.
He is the liaison between me
If you have problems, questions, you address
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Sitting in front of you is probably one of
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the most important persons in the courtroom.
Her name
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is Sara Rivera and she is one of the certified court
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reporters that appear in my courtroom, assigned to me,
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I've hired them.
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appearing, they'll be trading off, Olivia Aguilar.
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Their job is to record literally every sound in this
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courtroom, or compilations of sounds or words, et
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cetera.
And another one will be also
She has this little magic machine that's got so
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many characters.
It puts out -- it used to be if you
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served on a jury, there were these little trays of white
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paper and it was all hieroglyphics and they had great
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job security because nobody else could read it.
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they have these fancy machines, but she types still on
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the former 10-key or whatever she has, and automatically
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with this wonderful machine, realtime approaches and
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she's got English words where she typed in
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hieroglyphics.
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a big panel, and as a result, when we get to asking
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questions in the back of the room, number one, it's hard
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to see what row you're on.
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literally see you among the faces.
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that you speak clearly and that you speak loud enough
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for Ms. Rivera to be able to take down your answer
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because that is her job, to make a complete, accurate
She has to be able to hear you.
Now
This is
And number two, it's hard to
It is imperative
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transcript of everything that transpires in this
2
courtroom.
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Now, you are sitting there with cards.
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Okay.
We didn't think you couldn't stand in line in
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numerical order.
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These attorneys are meeting 73 people for the first
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time.
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positions based upon the random selection that was done
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and has been filtered down to this point, and you have a
That is not why you have that card.
They are -- you are sitting literally in exact
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lot of different names.
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voir dire if they have to reflect in a general question
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and look for your name and look for the person in the
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row, et cetera.
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It takes a long time to get to
Some of them will attempt to do that.
This card is to answer general questions
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from the lawyers.
Okay.
Some of the questions you will
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be asked will be presented to the entire panel.
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will be asked, for example, is there anyone in the
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courtroom that you know, the lawyers, the parties, the
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witnesses, et cetera.
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you would raise your card, you would keep it elevated
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until you hear your number.
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-- hearing your number is the stimulus for you to bring
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down your card.
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the entire panel.
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general question and we have 10 people shout out, that
You
If you're gonna respond to that,
At that time, your number
Those are called general questions of
And you can understand if we ask a
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would be a little bit chaotic and we wouldn't get very
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far, so that's why we use the cards, okay?
3
Now, then what will follow up is specific
4
questions.
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you know, if you had raised your card, how well do you
6
know them, and despite that relationship, can you be
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fair and impartial in this case?
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boils down to, despite your position, despite your
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opinion, can you be fair and impartial with an open mind
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They will say, Juror No. 4, who is it that
Remember, everything
listening to the facts in the case.
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Now, I am going to test this voir dire.
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They're gonna do it again, I'm sure, but I have
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introduced you to the lawyers, a lot of them, and I've
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introduced you to -- or they have introduced their
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parties and their paralegals.
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anyone sitting on this panel that knows any of the
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individuals that have been introduced to you so far?
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you do, please raise your card.
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appropriate way.
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panel -- hold on -- 6, 33, 46, 63, 73.
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--
At this time, is there
All right.
That's the
That was the question of the whole
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PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
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THE COURT:
Okay.
If
Okay.
Mr. 54, are you
No, I'm sorry.
All right.
Now, I said
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6.
Now, the question that would then be asked,
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Juror No. 6, who is it that you know, how well do you
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know them, and they can ask any number of questions, but
2
the bottom line is, despite knowing this paralegal, can
3
you still be fair and impartial in this case?
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right.
All
That's the way it's gonna work.
5
All right.
Now, the first thing you need
6
to know is everything we do, everything I do, everything
7
the lawyers do, everything the jurors do are subject to
8
rules, the law, and it's my job to ensure that there is
9
a fair trial and that it is all done according to the
10
Rules of Evidence or the Rules of Procedure.
I will
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tell you that my job is I am not on one side or the
12
other.
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based upon the Rules of Evidence.
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important from the standpoint, I'm the one that, in
15
effect, decides the law that you're going to use and
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that you must follow.
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instructions right at the beginning.
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one is:
I am like the umpire in the room calling it
19
But my job is very
So we give you certain
Instruction number
Do not communicate with or have
20
conversations with any of the lawyers, the parties, the
21
witnesses, or anyone who is interested in the outcome of
22
this case.
We are under the same instructions that you
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are under.
We are not going to engage you in these
24
conversations.
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appearance of impropriety.
The reason is we want to avoid the
So if I have one of my
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
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lawyers speaking to one of the individuals on the panel
2
about poor Romo, he's out again.
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that would give the appearance that there might be a
4
rapport being developed between a juror and an attorney
5
representing one of the parties.
6
appearances by these instructions.
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approaches you about this case, that's when you need to
8
advise Mr. Gallegos or me with regards to that so that I
9
can take corrective action.
10
The bottom line is, is
We avoid all those
So if anyone
Number two, do not accept from or give to
11
any of the individuals we named, any favors, however
12
slight, rides, food, refreshments, et cetera, and the
13
exception is that generally I will provide you with
14
something in the morning when you come to wait for us
15
and you'll have coffee and probably something to nibble
16
on.
17
fix that flat tire, okay?
18
go get somebody, perhaps -- we would get somebody to
19
assist you.
20
impropriety.
21
So, you have a flat tire, nobody in here is gonna
Including me.
But we would
It's again, avoid the appearance of
Number two, or number three, do not discuss
22
this case with anyone whomsoever, whether it's your
23
spouse, significant other, your employer, your neighbor,
24
your friend, a co-worker.
25
case with anyone whomsoever from the time that you're on
Please do not discuss this
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
20
1
the panel till the time that you serve as a juror until
2
I have discharged you from these instructions.
3
always a reason behind the instructions.
4
avoid outside influences.
5
capital murder case and you said, I'm a juror on a
6
capital murder case, please, you know, somebody is gonna
7
start addressing the death penalty with you.
8
called an outside influence.
9
as a juror, we want to insulate you from those outside
There's
This one is to
If this happened to be a
That's
And while you're sitting
10
opinions.
11
sometimes from your employer, whatever it is.
12
you're gonna take an oath to render a verdict in this
13
courtroom based upon what you hear and the evidence
14
presented in this courtroom alone, not what somebody
15
else might take out or share with you from the outside.
16
So again, please do not have any conversations or allow
17
anyone to discuss your jury duty with you during this
18
time.
19
Sometimes opinions from your spouse,
Cause
It's interesting that we now have to go
20
into an instruction that we usually didn't go into until
21
later on.
22
of mine, Juror No. 36, who isn't there, I mentioned it
23
was a criminal case at that time, I mentioned that the
24
defendant was so and so.
25
fast and started Googling, okay, so here's the social
I'll just share with you in a previous case
She took out her cell phone so
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
21
1
media instruction.
2
Do not use any form of social media from
3
this point forward with regards to any aspect of this
4
case and I mean, texting, tweeting, instagraming, no
5
pictures.
6
boring.
7
all, any form of social media, while you are on a panel
8
or while you are sitting as a juror in this case.
9
do not allow anyone to communicate to you with requests
I don't care if you say, oh, this was so
Do not communicate anything about this case at
And
10
for information about the case or what is going on.
11
Everybody understand that?
12
Texas law permits proof of jury misconduct.
13
That means that somebody can grade our papers later on
14
to determine whether or not there were violations of the
15
instructions that I just gave and whether those
16
violations resulted in a trial that was not fair to all
17
of the litigants.
18
excuse me, if that is alleged, I might have to have you
19
come back to the courthouse, give an affidavit and/or
20
take the witness stand to give information as to whether
21
the instructions were followed or they were not.
22
determine they were not, and that was harmful, then I
23
would have to declare a mistrial and we'd have to do it
24
all over again.
25
to do is the redundancy of the resources and the time
And if I determine that, you might --
If I
And the one thing we don't want to have
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
22
1
that you-all are about ready to invest in serving as in
2
your civic duty.
3
4
Does anybody have any questions with
regards to the instructions that I just gave?
5
(No audible or visible response.)
6
THE COURT:
Very good.
Here it comes.
7
We're about ready to begin a civil case.
8
criminal case.
9
Gamez versus Dillon Transport, Inc., Kenneth Eugene
10
This is not a
It's a civil case and it is, Theresa
Jennings and Miguel A. Garcia, Sr.
11
They're represented by -- I am going to
12
tell you, very, very competent counsel.
13
are not gonna waste your time.
14
prepared.
15
quickly as they can in the interest of justice and doing
16
the best they can for their clients.
17
These counsel
They are gonna be
And they're gonna get through this case as
I am telling you in advance that the
18
lawyers and I have discussed the possible length of this
19
trial, and we believe that it's going to take two and a
20
half weeks to conclude this trial and your
21
deliberations.
22
through December 18th, which is a Friday.
23
strong commitment to me -- to you, that we would
24
conclude by that time, and I know that you'd rather work
25
longer hours than have to come back during the week of
Which means that this trial could go
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
I'm making a
23
1
the beginning of the week of Christmas.
But that is our
2
goal and that is what we are going to do.
3
hours, we'll always start at 9:00 and we will conclude
4
at 5:30.
5
because if we're in the middle of a witness, there's
6
natural breaks in the testimony, and I will try to get
7
to one of those natural breaks before we recess for the
8
day.
9
will get breaks.
Our working
There may be a time we would go beyond that,
Sometimes we will work past that time period.
You
So I know people are real anxious
10
about, you know, I need time.
11
that jury box that raises and says, I need a break, I
12
guarantee you, I will shut it down and we will take the
13
break that you need.
14
there's an afternoon break, and there is a lunch break,
15
and I will tell you there's a lunch in your future here
16
today too.
17
over the next two and a half weeks and we will conclude,
18
hopefully, and I think all these attorneys are pretty
19
much committed to that as well.
20
If there is a hand in
There's always a morning break,
That is our working -- what you're facing
I will go over certain other things with
21
you, but I want to leave you with this:
This is a
22
system of justice where we're looking to citizens to
23
resolve disputes, that is, we're saying, don't allow
24
bias, prejudice, to have any part in your role as fact
25
finders and that's what you are.
Now, what transpires
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
24
1
now is that the attorneys will now make brief opening
2
remarks and begin the voir dire, the question and
3
answer.
4
You are meeting 73 people for the first
5
time and occasionally, there will be a time that you
6
don't feel comfortable answering a question in front of
7
your new best friends, and I understand that.
8
process works quickly when we can deal with everybody
9
answering in front of everybody else.
But this
However, if that
10
is not possible, and you do not want to answer in front
11
of all 73, you simply advise the attorneys and after the
12
voir dire, we will take you up individually to, in
13
effect, conclude the questioning that you might -- that
14
might be -- that they want to ask you.
15
They're not intending to embarrass you.
16
They're not intending to put you on the spot.
They're
17
not intending to, in any way, make you feel
18
uncomfortable.
19
fair and impartial jury.
20
truthfully, answer them briefly, if you can, and the
21
plaintiff will go first.
22
side, and the plaintiff and -- I'm gonna say, Theresa
23
Gamez and Miguel Garcia, that side will have two and a
24
half hours of voir dire, both general and specific.
25
then the defense, that is for Dillon Transport and
Their whole job is that, what, pick a
So answer questions
They have, the plaintiff's
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
And
25
1
Mr. Jennings, will also have two and a half hours.
2
They're seasoned attorneys.
3
your time, but it's gonna take that involvement.
4
some point in time, probably closer to 1:00, there will
5
be a lunch break, and then I'm gonna share this with you
6
now.
7
everybody's back.
8
this morning, so it's important that we are very
9
conscious and courteous to everybody else.
They're not gonna waste
At
When I give a break, we can't start until
10
I think you saw a little bit of that
At this time, the plaintiff may go forward.
11
Because the distance is so far to the bench, I'm sitting
12
here during voir dire, so I can hear.
13
MR. EDWARDS:
14
THE COURT:
15
MR. EDWARDS:
16
counsel.
Thank you, Judge.
You bet.
May it please the Court,
Good morning.
17
MEMBERS OF THE JURY PANEL:
18
MR. EDWARDS:
Good morning.
You need to move a moment,
19
shift in your seat, get blood flowing in places where it
20
might not be flowing.
21
So this morning, you get the opportunity to
22
open your mind and share your feelings with the perfect
23
stranger.
24
received your summons to come down here this week, you
25
weren't sitting at home saying to yourself, you know, I
And I'm sure that three weeks ago, before you
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
26
1
would really like to sit down with the perfect stranger
2
and open my mind and share my feelings, and oh, to make
3
it more fun, let's bring a judge into my home to put me
4
under oath to be honest as I open my mind and share my
5
feelings with a perfect stranger.
6
allow me, let me share a couple of quick stories with
7
you about my experience on your side of voir dire.
8
9
Let me -- if you will
I was once called -- summoned to jury
service and Ms. Jenkins, I sat in chair number one.
10
Now, you may not know it, but you're the hot seat, and
11
in fact, the first 12 of you have the highest chance of
12
being transferred to the jury box.
13
at No. 80.
But Mr. Nunez, back
14
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 80:
15
MR. EDWARDS:
Right here.
Don't lose track because I've
16
seen circumstances where the very last person was called
17
by the judge into this box.
18
So I was sitting here as Juror No. 1 and
19
the Judge gave the oath for me to be honest in answering
20
questions from the attorneys who were about to get up
21
and ask questions.
22
the microphone was my father.
23
going through my head, man, what do I think he doesn't
24
know about my high school years that he does know.
25
would suggest to you that having a perfect stranger ask
And the first lawyer to step up to
And I started thinking,
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
I
27
1
you the questions that are coming may actually be more
2
comfortable than to have somebody who is intimately
3
familiar with your life asking you those same questions.
4
Another quick story for you.
Just a matter
5
of two months ago, I was summoned for jury service.
And
6
I was No. 52 this time, not so much in the hot seat.
7
And I sat down in chair No. 52 and I looked up and I
8
knew that it was a criminal case, and that the
9
prosecutor's table was a very young prosecutor and with
10
her was, obviously, a more -- an older lawyer.
And you
11
know the voice in your head, my voice just started
12
going.
13
wonder if she's done this before.
14
a young lawyer and he's gonna be guiding her through
15
this.
16
and I say, oh, she's a little older.
17
went through the prosecutor's office to get her training
18
and now she's out in her own law firm practicing law.
19
wonder if she does anything other than criminal law.
20
Maybe she does other work on the side.
21
she's doing.
22
voice and says, this is a felony case.
23
theft case.
24
gears.
25
caught him with.
I wonder if this is her first voir dire.
I
I guess she's here as
And I look over at the criminal defense lawyer
I wonder if she
I
I wonder what
About that time the judge interrupts my
This is a felony
Now my -- the voice in my head shifts
Oh, I wonder what he stole.
I wonder what they
I wonder what evidence they have.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
I
28
1
wonder if they have a confession.
2
what he did?
3
convicted of other crimes and this is more about the
4
sentencing than whether or not he's guilty or not?
5
was just my voice, going, going, going, going.
6
only human nature that that's what our voice does.
7
if you're like me, right now, there's a voice going.
8
And the voice that is speaking to me right now is asking
9
this question over, and over, and over again.
Why are we down here?
Did he confess to
Was he previously
That
It's
And
Who here
10
may have feelings against Theresa Gamez's case?
11
see, as her lawyer, it is my responsibility to find out
12
who here may have feelings against her case.
13
You
Let me give you an example of what I'm
14
talking about.
If we were having a competition to see
15
who could bake the best pie, and it was down to two
16
competitors, one with an apple pie and one with a
17
cherry, and randomly, I was called from the office to be
18
the judge and it just so happens, let's say, I'm not
19
crazy about cherry pie.
20
thing for me to do is to share that with the
21
contestants?
22
know that, especially the contestant who baked the
23
cherry pie.
24
me to do in that circumstance is to disclose my distaste
25
to the contestants?
Do we all agree that the right
Because the contestants are gonna want to
So do we all agree that the right thing for
And the other right thing for me to
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
29
1
do is to be honest with myself about the potential
2
impact that my distaste may have on my decision.
3
Now, I may not be saying that I will throw
4
the contest if the apple pie is a sorry, dried up mess,
5
and the cherry pie is a succulent beauty.
6
things being equal, when I take a bite of cherry pie,
7
that tangy taste just causes my lip to curl ever so
8
slightly, no matter how hard I may try to like it.
9
But all
So do we all agree that the right thing for
10
me to do in that situation is to be honest with myself
11
and reveal to the contestants this particular distaste
12
that I have?
13
the chili cooking contest down the road because I like
14
all kinds of chili.
15
Now, I might be a perfectly good judge for
Now, of course, this case has nothing to do
16
with cherry pie or chili.
But this is a personal injury
17
lawsuit and I need to know, to fulfill my
18
responsibility, which of you here today may have
19
feelings, some feelings against personal injury
20
lawsuits.
21
for having some kind of feelings against personal injury
22
lawsuits.
23
Can anybody think of reasons that somebody might have
24
feelings against -- can you think of reasons that
25
somebody might have feelings against a personal injury
Different people may have different reasons
And so let me open up the floor for a moment.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
30
1
lawsuit?
2
3
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 37:
before.
4
MR. EDWARDS:
5
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 37:
6
MR. EDWARDS:
THE COURT:
MR. EDWARDS:
THE COURT:
14
MR. EDWARDS:
THE COURT:
17
MR. EDWARDS:
19
20
Mr. Edwards, would you have
And I will call it out for
Very good.
It wasn't visible to me, but
I'll do a better job of that.
16
18
Any others?
you.
13
15
Thank you.
Number 37.
other reasons that you can think of?
Thank you.
Any
Number 47.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 47:
I think it's
abused a lot here in this area.
21
MR. EDWARDS:
22
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 47:
23
MR. EDWARDS:
24
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 21:
25
Yes,
them state their numbers for the court reporter?
11
12
Been sued
Been sued before.
that's a very good reason.
9
10
I'm sorry?
before.
7
8
Been sued
Abuse of lawsuits.
Right.
What else, No. 21?
Everybody don't
take small personal injury because it's a, how big the
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
31
1
case is, what I know or I talk to somebody and they go
2
to this personal injury lawsuit with the big guys, the
3
one that you see in the commercial.
4
against a small or an individual, not a company, they
5
don't get -- they don't get like treated right, or not
6
treated right, they don't get entertained (sic) other
7
than if it's somebody that would be --
8
9
MR. EDWARDS:
Okay.
If it's just
So somebody may not
get full justice in a personal injury lawsuit?
10
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 21:
11
MR. EDWARDS:
12
we can think of?
13
14
Okay.
Any other reasons that
Yes, No. 70?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 70:
MR. EDWARDS:
16
THE REPORTER:
17
MR. EDWARDS:
18
MR. CHAVES:
19
THE REPORTER:
20
MR. EDWARDS:
21
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 75:
Abuse of it, right.
What number was that?
That was 70.
70.
Okay.
Let me get 75.
Being a business
owner also.
23
MR. EDWARDS:
24
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 75:
25
Potential for
abuse.
15
22
That's correct.
I'm sorry?
owner also concerns me.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Being a business
32
1
MR. EDWARDS:
Being a business owner and it
2
can have perceived negative consequences on business
3
owners.
4
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 75:
5
MR. EDWARDS:
6
again?
7
8
11
12
And what was your number
Thank you.
What else?
Did I see another number over
here?
9
10
75.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 37:
MR. EDWARDS:
Excessive payouts.
14
MR. EDWARDS:
15
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 37:
18
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 80:
Yes, No. 80?
19
been sued by the insurance for a wreck.
20
MR. EDWARDS:
24
25
That's why you
make a good living on it.
MR. EDWARDS:
23
Yeah, too big.
That's No. 37.
17
22
The
awards are too big.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 37:
21
Excessive
payouts.
13
16
Right.
Yes, sir.
I've
I'm sorry, can you repeat
that one more time?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 80:
I got sued by my
insurance because my girl had a wreck.
MR. EDWARDS:
Okay.
So being sued before
can be a reason to have a feeling against personal
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
33
1
injury lawsuits.
2
3
So we all -- and I'm gonna -- let me -I'll come back to you.
4
UNIDENTIFIED PROSPECTIVE JUROR:
5
MR. EDWARDS:
Okay.
I was mostly looking for
6
reasons that we might think of.
And thank you for your
7
responses.
8
this.
9
ago was, can you think of reasons.
That's very helpful.
Now I want to go to
A minute ago, my question -- my question a moment
Now my question is,
10
and I'm gonna take a little better note this time.
11
here actually does have some feelings against personal
12
injury lawsuits for whatever the reason may be?
13
37, 40 -- I'll tell you what, let me start -- I'm gonna
14
go row by row if you'll allow me, okay?
15
first row have any feelings against personal injury
16
lawsuits?
17
these things, but let's just right now get it
18
identified.
Number 4.
Number
Anybody in the
And I'll come back and ask about
Is that all right?
19
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
20
MR. EDWARDS:
Good.
21
16.
22
against personal injury lawsuits?
Uh-huh.
Second row is number
Anybody else on row 16 that may have feelings
23
(No audible or visible response.)
24
MR. EDWARDS:
25
Who
How about the third row?
Anybody there?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
34
1
(No audible or visible response.)
2
MR. EDWARDS:
3
already got 37.
No.
And the fourth row, I've
Anybody else on that fourth row?
4
(No audible or visible response.)
5
MR. EDWARDS:
6
47 and 48.
The fifth row in the 40's.
Anybody else in the 40's?
7
(No audible or visible response.)
8
MR. EDWARDS:
9
54.
Anybody in the 50's?
And how about in the 60's?
10
Number 69, No. 70.
11
last row, the 70's.
12
else in the last row?
13
53 and
Anybody in the 60's?
Now I guess we're going into the
I've got 78, 79 and 80.
Anybody
73 and 75.
So let me digress a minute.
When I was
14
Juror No. 52 in that criminal case a couple of months
15
back, I had answered in my -- on that juror information
16
card where it asks about anybody in your family is law
17
enforcement.
18
my head that that question was asking about like police
19
officers.
20
defense lawyer raised that question again.
21
there thinking about it, it occurred to me, I have a
22
brother-in-law who's a county attorney who prosecutes
23
criminal cases.
24
he's actually been out on raids with law enforcement
25
before.
I'd answered that no because I had it in
And in the middle of voir dire the criminal
And as I sat
That's probably law enforcement and
So I -- it took me a moment.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
I sat there
35
1
saying to myself, that voice again, I wonder if I should
2
raise my hand because maybe this is law enforcement,
3
maybe it's not.
4
I can go ahead and make full disclosure.
5
that up at this point for this.
6
and there may be some of you who are sitting there
7
going, I may have a -- is that a feeling against
8
personal injury lawsuits or not?
9
last opportunity, I'm not gonna go row by row.
And I eventually raised my hand so that
I will bring
We just went row by row
So I'm gonna give one
Anybody
10
who did not raise their card who is sitting there with
11
that little voice going, maybe I should raise my card.
12
Number 9.
Anybody else?
13
MR. SMITH:
14
MR. EDWARDS:
21 and 42.
41.
I'm sorry?
Oh, 41 and 42.
15
So I think what I will do is come back to each of you
16
real quick and ask, Mr. Hinojosa, correct, No. 4?
17
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
18
MR. EDWARDS:
19
Yes, uh-huh.
I will start with you.
You're in the hot seat.
20
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
21
MR. EDWARDS:
Uh-huh.
You've indicated that you may
22
have some feelings against personal injury lawsuits.
23
Can you explain that a little bit, your reason?
24
25
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
sued at my company, Goodman.
Well, we're being
And I was outside helping
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
36
1
a customer load, safety chains were up, he inadvertently
2
slipped off the dock with the chains up.
3
he was fine.
4
now we're getting sued.
5
I was the one that was outside.
6
outside all the time.
7
fine.
It's been about nine, ten months later,
I have to be a witness because
He's flinging around
He's still coming in and he's
8
MR. EDWARDS:
9
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
Sure.
10
I can't even tell him anything.
11
Apparently, my boss won't let me.
12
go to a deposition and all of that.
13
took so long.
14
He indicated
So I just -- and
I can't talk to him.
But I might have to
I don't get why it
And he's -- to me he's fine, so.
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
So, let me share
15
another quick story with you so that we can have a means
16
to talk about what you're saying, because what I hear
17
you saying -- by the way, I probably won't be the only
18
lawyer doing this.
19
something to the effect of what I hear you saying.
20
Because we want to make sure that we're clear that we
21
understand that what you intended to say is what we
22
heard.
And none of us are trying to put words in your
23
mouth.
All right.
24
to make sure that we correctly heard you.
25
You may hear us use a shorthand of
We're trying to shortcut the process
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Right.
37
1
MR. EDWARDS:
And so, Mr. Hinojosa, what I
2
hear you saying is, your employer has been sued
3
currently in suit.
4
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
5
MR. EDWARDS:
6
on your schedule.
7
bringing the lawsuit.
Uh-huh.
It's having a negative impact
You aren't crazy about the guy that's
8
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
No.
9
MR. EDWARDS:
So a couple of
All right.
10
quick stories to see if I can exemplify something.
When
11
I was in the third grade, there was a fella by the name
12
of Gary, who came up to me unprovoked and slugged me in
13
the stomach.
14
hurt my feelings, because I thought he was my friend.
15
And as you can tell, I still remember Gary.
16
was sitting in your chair, Mr. Hinojosa, and somebody up
17
here was named Gary, I would go, oh, that reminds me of
18
my friend, Gary, who slugged me in the stomach in the
19
third grade.
20
today.
21
impartial even though your good friend, Gary, who
22
happens to be the plaintiff's name, can you still put
23
that aside and be fair and impartial in this case?
24
of course I'd say, sure.
25
there, and this Gary's got nothing to do with that Gary.
And you know, it more than hurt me, it
Now, if I
I wonder what that dirty dog is doing
And then if a lawyer asked me, can you still be
And
I know that Gary was back
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
38
1
That same year, third grade, of elementary school, my
2
friends next door to us had a German Shepherd dog and we
3
knew that he was an aggressive dog and he nipped me.
4
Thankfully, it wasn't a real bad bite, but I remember
5
that as well.
6
panel like this for a dog bite case and everybody agreed
7
that the dog didn't bite the plaintiff, there was -- if
8
everybody agreed that the plaintiff aggravated the dog,
9
I might be a perfectly fine juror in that case.
Now, if I happen to be called in to a
But as
10
soon as there was contested evidence, conflicting
11
evidence, the plaintiff saying, I didn't provoke the
12
dog.
13
defense will -- the defendant, the owner of the dog is
14
saying, my dog never bites anybody and you have to
15
provoke the dog if you want it to bite -- if it's ever
16
gonna bite anybody it's got to be provoked.
17
that case, if I'm asked, can you be -- Mr. Edwards, can
18
you be a fair and impartial juror?
19
look in my heart and go, you know what, when I hear that
20
conflicting evidence, where I go in my head is, I knew
21
these dang German Shepherds were all biters.
22
sorry, Judge.
The dog just attacked me and bit me.
23
THE COURT:
24
MR. EDWARDS:
25
And the
Now, in
I have to really
And I'm
That's okay.
And I would have to say, you
know what, this isn't the right jury for me to be on.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
39
1
If you're talking about a dog bite case, where the
2
evidence is contested and the dog is a German Shepherd,
3
I really shouldn't be on that panel or on that jury.
4
You see the difference I'm getting to Mr. Hinojosa?
5
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
Yep.
6
MR. EDWARDS:
So, you've got
All right.
7
this problem at work.
Is it akin to my friend -- friend
8
who slugged me in the stomach, or is it akin to the dog
9
who bit me?
Can you set this aside and be an impartial
10
fact finder in this case or is this something that's
11
gonna spill over, as -- if you were to be on this jury?
12
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
I can be fair.
13
MR. EDWARDS:
That's all we can
14
ask for you.
All right.
You understand?
15
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
16
MR. EDWARDS:
17
Mr. Benavides, you indicated that you might
18
Uh-huh.
All right.
have some feelings against personal injury lawsuits?
19
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 9:
A month ago, my
20
wife backs up, where she works, into a car parked in an
21
area that wasn't supposed to be there at three miles an
22
hour.
23
arms, other stuff.
24
This was just a month ago.
25
head, she's faking it and I'm already that -- in my
All of a sudden, she feels pain in her neck,
We don't know what's gonna happen.
So I -- you know, in my
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
40
1
head, in my mind.
2
MR. EDWARDS:
You have actually nicely
3
jumped ahead to another question that I have on my list
4
here.
5
you.
And so let me get to it.
6
7
And in case I didn't say it for the record,
we're talking with Mr. Benavides, No. 9.
8
9
I'll jump to it with
There are -- I know that there are some
folks, because of experience or otherwise, who are
10
suspicious of people who bring personal injury lawsuits.
11
They're just suspicious of their motivation.
12
suspicious of whether or not they're really hurt.
13
They're just generally suspicious of the people who
14
bring them.
15
pointing to.
16
going on in your life where you're under the threat of
17
perhaps being sued.
18
that you're suspicious of in terms of whether or not
19
they're being truly honest about the extent of their
20
injuries.
21
Yes?
22
23
24
25
They're
And it sounds like that's what you're
That you have this personal experience
And in your eyes, it's somebody
Is that -- have I stated it about right?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 9:
(Nodding head up
and down.)
MR. EDWARDS:
And another thing you'll hear
us do is we'll have you answer out loud so that the
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
41
1
court reporter can get it down.
2
take a nod of the head.
It's hard for her to
3
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 9:
4
MR. EDWARDS:
Yes.
So Mr. Benavides, do you
5
think that that -- how will that -- you know, there's
6
gonna be contested evidence in this case about whether
7
and to the -- or to the extent of the injuries in this
8
case.
9
that's going on in your life right now would cause you
And I'm wondering if this personal experience
10
to bring that suspicion into the jury box with you in
11
such a way that you're gonna use that suspicion against
12
people who bring lawsuits while you're in the jury box?
13
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 9:
I think if -- if
14
it's borderline, I'm definitely gonna go towards faking
15
rather than -- than it could actually be true.
16
17
18
19
MR. EDWARDS:
Okay.
So if the evidence was
all one sided that -PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 9:
a piano fell on her head, you know, I mean, come on.
20
MR. EDWARDS:
21
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 9:
That's right.
22
right here, I might say she made it up.
23
MR. EDWARDS:
24
25
Well, I mean, if
But if it fell
If the evidence is gonna be
contested on the extent of injury.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 9:
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Right.
42
1
MR. EDWARDS:
Your suspicion is very likely
2
-- based on your personal experience right now, it's
3
likely to come into play?
4
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 9:
5
MR. EDWARDS:
6
Okay.
Right.
Thank you for your
answers, sir.
7
Mr. Miller, No. 16.
You indicated that you
8
may have some feelings against personal injury lawsuits.
9
Can you expound upon that a little bit?
10
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
I do own a
11
business and we helped a person that was in an
12
automobile accident a number of years ago.
13
included, as apparently tend to be a great many of us
14
who stopped to help, and she had injuries to her neck
15
and back.
16
business, the other ones weren't brought into that case
17
and we were.
18
affected that.
19
hadn't been for the other witnesses there, I'm sure that
20
they would have come after me.
21
provoked a question in my mind about legality of
22
extending or tending to extend into other people who
23
were there.
24
policeman who is right now going through a case again,
25
happened to show up on a domestic violence thing and he
They
And when they found out that I had a
I don't know what we did or how we
We helped get her out of the car.
Extremely hard.
If it
That
And the other one is, my nephew is a
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
43
1
just tumbled out of that house, drunk, and now he's
2
suing a great many of them into that.
3
to be the way it is.
4
MR. EDWARDS:
That just tends
So let's, if we can, visit
5
about each of those separately.
I think it's fair to
6
say that this case doesn't involve any kind of bystander
7
claim.
8
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
9
MR. EDWARDS:
Okay.
Okay.
It's not -- there's no
10
lawsuit being brought against somebody who stopped to
11
render aid or anything like that.
12
was something -- and I'm just testing the water here,
13
Okay?
14
test the water with you a little bit.
15
put words in your mouth, so stop me if I do.
16
like when you started that answer with, "I'm a business
17
owner," where I first went, before I heard the rest of
18
it was, and these personal injury lawsuits affect us
19
businesses.
It sounded like there
I'm -- this is one of those areas where I want to
20
I'm not trying to
It sounded
Anything about that for you?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
Oh, absolutely.
21
Had I not owned a business, I doubt seriously I would
22
have been pursued in that case.
23
leave a bad taste, and as I said, I feel that it's a
24
tendency for many lawyers to pursue as many pockets as
25
available.
That consequently does
That's -- may or may not be true, but that
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
44
1
was the case in this situation.
2
tends to be that way.
3
MR. EDWARDS:
It's ridiculous that it
If there are claims in this
4
case against both a driver and a company, how will these
5
things that you're talking about impact you as a juror
6
if you were sitting on the case?
7
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
That's an
8
interesting question, because we haven't heard the case,
9
and consequently, it's impossible for me to give you an
10
answer.
11
was the vehicle?
12
right, correct, what was damaged in the process?
13
can't answer that question.
14
do I feel that you're pursuing this because of this,
15
yes, so absolutely.
16
At what fault was the driver and at what fault
What part of the vehicle was wrong,
MR. EDWARDS:
I
Do I feel that there's --
All right.
So as you step --
17
as you sit here today, if the jury -- if the Judge
18
called you to sit in the jury box, you would enter that
19
jury box with that preconceived notion about this
20
lawsuit?
21
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
I would be lying
22
if I said I would not sit there with a preconceived
23
notion.
24
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
25
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Yes.
45
1
MR. EDWARDS:
Thank you.
And again, for
2
the record, if I missed it, we're visiting with
3
Mr. Miller who is No. 16.
4
5
The lawsuit involving your son, the
policeman --
6
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
7
MR. EDWARDS:
8
that an ongoing case?
9
know?
10
My nephew.
Your nephew, I'm sorry.
Is
Is it currently ongoing, do you
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
Actually, at
11
Thanksgiving they were discussing the issue.
12
seems at this point it's just in dialogue --
13
MR. EDWARDS:
14
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
And it
Do you know -Neither the
15
attorneys have made a decision to pursue it, nor has it
16
been dropped.
17
MR. EDWARDS:
18
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
19
Okay.
sitting in limbo.
20
MR. EDWARDS:
21
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
All right.
22
this case doesn't deal with that issue.
23
not relevant.
24
25
It's just
MR. EDWARDS:
It looks like
I guess that's
Doesn't involve police
officers or no police officers involved here -- is sued
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
46
1
here.
2
3
Okay.
Let me come now -- and Mr. Miller,
thank you.
4
Number 21, is it Mr. Gaspar?
5
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 21:
6
MR. EDWARDS:
Yes, sir.
So I think I know what your
7
answer is gonna be based on your prior answer, but let
8
me just go ahead and ask you.
9
reasoning, what's your thinking about you may have a
10
What is it -- what's your
feeling against personal injury lawsuits?
11
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 21:
12
earlier, I really don't have any personal experience
13
like other jurors have said.
14
note earlier, when you called row by row, I didn't put
15
my card until you said this is your second chance.
16
sat like in limbo, it's in my mind.
17
gonna be bias or not because of what I was thinking
18
before.
19
know, I think I won't be -- I won't be fair because of
20
what I thought about personal injury lawyers.
It's just like, if you
And if I look at myself sitting down there, you
MR. EDWARDS:
22
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 21:
24
25
So I
It's like, am I
21
23
As you noticed
All right.
So that's why I
picked my card up again.
MR. EDWARDS:
disclose here.
All right.
And I gotta self
My wife thinks I need hearing aids, and
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
47
1
I'm just too vain to go get them.
2
will be fair and you'll set aside the bias or you won't
3
be fair?
4
5
Did you say that you
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 21:
I'm thinking I
won't be fair at this point.
6
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
And now you
7
realize I'm gonna have to go home and tell my wife you
8
may be right.
9
10
11
12
13
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 21:
Nothing against
lawyers, it's nothing against personal injury lawyers.
MR. CHAVES:
husbands that.
I think all wives tell their
My wife does it too.
MR. EDWARDS:
Let's see.
The next one I
14
have is No. 37, Mr. Horowitz.
15
shared a little bit, but if you will, go ahead and with
16
respect to your feelings against personal injury
17
lawsuits, can you tell what those are and expound on
18
that a little bit?
19
And again, I think you've
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 37:
I just feel like
20
generally, a big name in a civil case like this is
21
supposed to be, and unless there's some criminal
22
negligence involved, then everybody should take care of
23
their own problems.
24
advertise on TV, these big awards and everything and the
25
person ends up with hardly anything after all the
They go on and on and they
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
48
1
expenses and so on and so forth.
2
think.
3
have been in the courtroom.
4
an ambulance chaser too, but you know, that's his
5
choice.
I told your dad that one day too.
6
7
MR. EDWARDS:
You might
And I have a nephew that's
Sure.
It sounds like you've
got pretty strong feelings about this.
8
9
It's a big scam, I
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 37:
Yeah, I do.
Good, bad, or otherwise, it's true.
10
MR. EDWARDS:
Yeah.
It sounds like that
11
you if were placed in the jury box in this case, those
12
feelings -- those strong feelings are gonna go with you?
13
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 37:
14
MR. EDWARDS:
15
your decision in the case.
And it would probably impact
Yes?
16
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 37:
17
MR. EDWARDS:
18
All right.
it Ms. -PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 41:
22
MR. EDWARDS:
Canales.
I had a legal assistant write
my names down and I can't read her handwriting.
24
25
Mr. Horowitz,
And then, we'll come over to No. 41, and is
21
23
Yes, sir.
thank you.
19
20
Probably.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 41:
Canales.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Okay.
It's
49
1
MR. EDWARDS:
2
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 41:
3
MR. EDWARDS:
4
Oh, it's Canales?
Yes.
That's what -- you know, if
she had written Canales I could have read that.
5
And by the way, that legal assistant is not
6
in here with me, so. Ms. Canales, you indicated that you
7
may have some feelings against lawsuits, personal injury
8
lawsuits?
9
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 41:
Yes.
Several
10
years ago, I served, I guess as a juror on a jury trial
11
and, involving a car and a woman getting hit from
12
behind.
13
her choice.
14
evidence and information was brought forth, and she used
15
things to play on your emotions.
16
represented herself so at that point, it bothered me
17
that she went there with that.
18
to personal injury situations, depending on what they
19
are, and how they're brought forth.
20
only comment on personal injury lawsuits.
21
She represented herself, which obviously, was
And so everything was discussed and all the
MR. EDWARDS:
And again, she
It makes me sort of bias
Okay.
And that was my
You know, this --
22
Mr. Miller had a great point a minute ago which is we
23
don't know what the evidence is gonna be in this case.
24
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 41:
25
MR. EDWARDS:
Right.
And it's not -- it's really
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
50
1
not -- the -- this process is not the process where we
2
start to introduce evidence.
3
very little about the evidence, if at all in this
4
process.
5
about these things in a, you know, outside the evidence.
6
And that's one reason that we lawyers pry into this some
7
is because if there's the potential for that kind of
8
bias showing up in the jury box, we need to know about
9
that potential ahead of time.
For that matter, we talk
And so I know it's difficult sometimes to talk
Because if halfway during
10
the trial you go, oh, this is -- my bias is just kicking
11
me right now, it's too late.
12
halftime --
We don't get to stop at
13
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 41:
14
MR. EDWARDS:
Right.
-- and re-ask these
15
questions.
16
can look honestly into your heart and decide whether you
17
can set aside those feelings that you may have against
18
personal injury lawsuits, and have this case, if you're
19
on the jury, decided only on the evidence.
20
question, of course, the Judge brought this up, you
21
know, it's a matter of being that impartial juror -- and
22
part of that impartial piece is that strong feelings or
23
strong opinions that we bring into the jury box with us
24
are not supposed to form part of our decision.
25
So I'm asking you now, you know, only you
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 41:
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
And the
Right.
51
1
MR. EDWARDS:
And so, you know, all I can
2
do is just lay it out there for you and let you answer.
3
You know, you have to be sure the bias won't play a part
4
in my decision or the bias may play a part -- may play a
5
part.
6
7
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 41:
truthfully, it may play a part.
8
MR. EDWARDS:
9
THE COURT:
Okay.
I'm sorry, I did not hear that.
10
MR. EDWARDS:
11
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 41:
12
I mean,
Did you say -I said
truthfully, it might play a part.
13
MR. EDWARDS:
Ms. Canales, thank you.
14
Yes, No. 12.
15
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 12:
16
spoken up earlier, but I'm afraid I would be biased.
17
MR. EDWARDS:
18
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 12:
I should have
And tell us about that.
Because we were
19
recently in a car accident and there were more people in
20
the car.
21
wearing seat belts.
22
we hit only the driver's side.
23
went to a personal injury lawyer.
24
understand, it was a pretty big payout.
25
a fact none of those other people on the passenger's
And I know for a fact that there was two not
Everybody claimed an injury which
So everyone in the car
And from what I
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
And I know for
52
1
side were injured.
2
3
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
And for the
record, we're visiting with Ms. Arias who is No. 12.
4
And Ms. Arias, it sounds like -- I mean,
5
you said it, if you go into this jury box, you're gonna
6
have a bias against the people bringing the lawsuit.
7
that right?
8
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 12:
9
MR. EDWARDS:
Okay.
Yes, I will.
And that was a "yes"?
10
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 12:
11
MR. EDWARDS:
Okay.
Is
Yes, I would.
I was just making sure
12
that it was loud enough for the court reporter to hear.
13
Thank you.
14
and letting it percolate up and then raising your card
15
up.
I really appreciate that.
16
17
And Ms. Arias, thank you for sitting there
So let me go back to No. 42 now.
Mr. Valdez.
18
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 42:
19
cousin who is a police officer.
20
I may be bias also --
21
22
23
THE REPORTER:
please?
Yes.
I have a
Depending on the case,
Sir, can you speak up,
I'm having a hard time hearing you, sir.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 42:
Depending on the
24
case, I guess I may be biased, I'm not sure.
25
hear more evidence.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
We need to
53
1
MR. EDWARDS:
2
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 42:
3
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
So you have a
brother who's a police officer?
6
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 42:
7
MR. EDWARDS:
8
I do have a
brother that is a police officer.
4
5
Okay.
And a cousin.
Has he been sued or has he
been involved in lawsuits?
9
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 42:
10
MR. EDWARDS:
No, no.
So is that -- when you say
11
that you may have feelings against personal injury
12
lawsuits, is the only reason for those feelings that
13
your brother is a police officer?
14
15
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 42:
It's a cousin,
but --
16
MR. EDWARDS:
Oh, I'm sorry, a cousin.
17
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 42:
-- but I've been
18
in a couple of car accidents before obviously, me and my
19
wife, we still have unpaid medical bills from the
20
lawyer, still need to be taken care of, so.
21
MR. EDWARDS:
So you've had a -- it sounds
22
like you've had a prior experience with bringing a claim
23
yourself?
24
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 42:
25
MR. EDWARDS:
Yes.
And your lawyer that
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
54
1
represented you that you say that afterwards you were
2
still having to pay medical bills?
3
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 42:
4
MR. EDWARDS:
5
Yes, sir.
And it sounds like that left
a bad taste in your mouth for personal injury lawsuits?
6
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 42:
7
MR. EDWARDS:
Yes, sir.
If the Judge were to place
8
you in the jury box to decide this case, I'm wondering,
9
will your distaste for personal injury lawsuits arising
10
out of your personal experience, is that going to cause
11
you -- as you go into that jury box, is it gonna have
12
you feeling that -- is the plaintiff, the person
13
bringing the lawsuit, is she gonna be starting behind,
14
so to speak, when you -- if you entered the jury box?
15
16
17
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 42:
sir.
I believe so,
Yes, sir.
MR. EDWARDS:
And as you listen to
18
conflicting evidence, do you think that this bias that
19
you're talking about, do you think that that bias would
20
stay with you in the jury box and as you heard
21
conflicting evidence coming from the two different
22
sides, that the bias would cause you to lean more
23
towards the defendant's side of the evidence?
24
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 42:
25
MR. EDWARDS:
Yes, sir.
Mr. Valdez, thank you.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
55
1
So now we come back to 47, Mr. Dodson.
2
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 47:
Yes, sir.
My
3
family farms and we also have an interest in a trucking
4
company.
5
company, have had personal injury lawsuits against them.
6
One was hit while it was parked and they sued us and got
7
a settlement.
8
vehicle that was rear-ended and we got -- we had to pay
9
part of that settlement as well.
And we, both the farm and the trucking
And the other one was a slow moving
And you know, in
10
having that experience and being raised around that type
11
of situation could have an influence on how I might see
12
something.
13
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
And so if there
14
is conflicting evidence in this case about what
15
happened, about what the injuries are, and you've got a
16
trucking company on one side, and Theresa Gamez bringing
17
the case on the other side, that experience that you're
18
talking about --
19
20
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 47:
Might have some
influence on how I see things.
21
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
And it sounds
22
like this is a long-held -- a long-held belief on your
23
part?
24
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 47:
25
know, I've seen the lawsuit abuse personally and not
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Yeah, just, you
56
1
only that, but my family's been sued.
2
suit and it left a bitter taste in my mouth.
3
MR. EDWARDS:
It was a personal
Yeah, and it sounds like it
4
would be hard for you to, like me and the German
5
Shepherd.
6
7
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 47:
be a little difficult to be impartial.
8
MR. EDWARDS:
9
Mr. Dodson.
10
Yeah.
Thank you.
Where do you all
farm?
11
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 47:
12
MR. EDWARDS:
13
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 47:
14
We have a cotton
sorghum out there.
MR. EDWARDS:
16
Let's move to No. 48.
17
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 48:
18
MR. EDWARDS:
Sure.
Okay.
Is it Ms. Moulzolf?
Yes.
You indicated that you
may have some feelings against personal injury lawsuits?
20
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 48:
21
Juror No. 37.
22
make money.
So they go to a personal injury lawyer.
MR. EDWARDS:
24
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 48:
accident.
I agree with
I feel a lot of it is people are out to
23
25
Chapman Ranch.
Okay.
15
19
Yeah, it would
All right.
I was a passenger.
I was in an
We bumped somebody.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
That
57
1
person came out, we asked them if they were fine.
2
answered, yes, I'm fine.
3
around and she goes to a lawyer and sues my friend who
4
was driving.
5
6
We'll be fine.
She turns
So it left a bad taste.
MR. EDWARDS:
Sure.
And so you say you
agree with Mr. Horowitz who's No. 37.
7
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 48:
8
MR. EDWARDS:
9
They
Yes.
Do you also agree with
Mr. Horowitz that you wouldn't be able to put this bias
10
aside and that it would influence your decision in the
11
case?
12
13
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 48:
Going through
that accident, no, I wouldn't be able to.
14
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
And just to make
15
sure that everybody back here heard, did you -- you said
16
you would not be able to put it aside?
17
18
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 48:
I would not be
able to.
19
MR. EDWARDS:
20
So now I come back to this side, No. 53.
21
All right.
Thank you.
Is it Mr. Rosarius?
22
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 53:
I don't have a
23
personal injury situation in lawsuits, but I am very
24
skeptical of personal injury lawsuits.
25
people are out to make money.
I think it's
Both the attorneys and
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
58
1
the plaintiff.
2
read a lot of articles on it, so I'm a skeptical person.
3
It's just -- I read a lot of papers and
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
So you're
4
skeptical of it.
5
about it and that this is a -- a strongly held belief
6
that you have?
7
It sounds like you have read a lot
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 53:
Yeah, I think
8
it's a very large payout.
9
intended to make you whole and I think personal injury
10
lawsuits go to the extreme.
11
12
I feel like the system is
MR. EDWARDS:
Is there a sense about you
that these lawsuits are just out of control?
13
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 53:
14
MR. EDWARDS:
Absolutely.
And so I'll -- I need to ask
15
you the same thing that we've asked others.
16
is, if you are asked by the Judge to come sit in the
17
jury box, are those strongly held beliefs gonna go with
18
you into that jury box, and influence your fact finding
19
that may come about when there's conflicting evidence
20
involved?
21
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 53:
And that
I could be very
22
open-minded, but I have to be honest that I am very
23
skeptical when it comes to these types of lawsuits.
24
25
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
And when you're
honest about that skepticism, that is, it sounds like
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
59
1
that you're saying that you have a leaning against
2
Theresa Gamez who's bringing the lawsuit?
3
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 53:
4
MR. EDWARDS:
That's correct.
And it sounds like you would
5
have a very hard time leaving that behind, if you went
6
into the jury box?
7
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 53:
That's correct.
8
MR. EDWARDS:
9
Number 54, can you say your name for me?
Mr. Rosarius, thank you.
10
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
11
MR. EDWARDS:
Enderle.
Enderle.
Great.
12
Mr. Enderle, you indicated that you've got some feelings
13
against personal injury lawsuits.
14
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
Yeah, two
15
things.
Before equitable payouts, it's kind of like
16
giving to a charity, you give a dollar for the charity
17
and 10 percent goes to the charity and then 90 percent
18
goes to everything in between.
19
The other thing is, my wife was given a
20
drug from a doctor that was the wrong type of drug.
21
called a reputable attorney in town.
22
to get back.
23
underlings, you know, and since there weren't any
24
injuries -- there's potential injuries, all of her
25
injuries, they wouldn't even touch the case.
I
It took him a day
I explained my situation to one of their
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
So in my
60
1
mind, I'm thinking, well since there's no injuries,
2
there's no money to be made so we're not even gonna
3
touch it.
4
like, okay, you've got a death and before we can even
5
touch it.
6
it.
7
8
So it has to be like major injury where it's
So yeah, I don't have a lot of respect for
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
Again, it sounds
like these are strongly held beliefs that you have.
9
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
I have an
10
opinion when it comes to this kind of stuff.
11
justice.
12
There's no
That's just the way I feel about it.
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
And it -- I'm
13
dissecting this in my mind.
14
don't necessarily have a feeling against Theresa Gamez
15
for bringing this lawsuit, but it sounds like you may
16
have feelings against the lawsuit business, so to speak,
17
and perhaps have feelings against lawyers like me that
18
consider taking these lawsuits.
19
It almost sounds like you
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
Possibly.
I
20
mean, if there's injury, I believe in the system -- to
21
take that injury to court.
22
definitely more proof from the doctor of the actual
23
injury, I don't have a problem with bringing a lawsuit
24
or a civil suit in that case.
25
brings -- it always comes up to the top, it's always the
You know, if there's
But what brings -- what
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
61
1
payout.
I mean, they'll represent obviously the
2
defendant or the plaintiff, I guess, if they're injured,
3
be careful, we want to get long term, short-term care
4
for the rest of their life when they're injured.
5
the same token, the -- the amount goes up because
6
obviously, you've got to get your cut of it, you know,
7
that's just common knowledge.
8
of a -- I can see it both ways, but I've got a real
9
problem with the actual payout.
10
MR. EDWARDS:
But by
So yeah, so there's kind
You say some very interesting
11
-- you've got some great concepts.
And what I hear is a
12
-- that you're balancing a couple of different things in
13
your mind.
14
bad taste in your mouth about the -- about personal
15
injury lawsuits.
16
maybe you don't have feelings against, in this
17
particular instance, Theresa Gamez, for bring this
18
lawsuit.
One is your personal experience has left a
But on the other hand, it sounds like
I don't know that.
19
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
Yeah, I
20
obviously don't have any knowledge of what happened or
21
the details.
22
right here.
23
you're injured, I can see that side of it.
24
other side, how severe are the injuries?
25
exactly are you gonna get because if it's not enough for
We're not gonna discuss that, obviously,
But yeah, going into it, like, yeah, if
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
But on the
And then what
62
1
you personally, to take care of your personal livelihood
2
and your welfare of the care you need, if it's not
3
enough then the rates almost gonna go up because
4
everybody's got to get a piece of the pie.
5
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
And so, I guess,
6
the bottom line question is, can you put all those
7
thoughts aside if they are thoughts against personal
8
injury lawsuits and if the Judge pulls you into the jury
9
box, can you put those feelings aside and decide this
10
case on the evidence that is presented here in the
11
courtroom?
12
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
I don't see how
13
that would be possible.
With the things I carry around
14
and the experience I've seen, read about, heard about
15
and experienced personally.
16
MR. EDWARDS:
17
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
18
I don't see -- I
don't see how a person can actually separate that.
19
20
All right.
MR. EDWARDS:
And in any event, you can't
see how you yourself could separate yourself from that?
21
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
No, because in
22
my opinion, most things are experience-based versus
23
reading something.
24
read.
25
there's no removing that from your mind, in your
You read it, it's something you
If you actually experience it, there's no --
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
63
1
emotions, which is who you are.
2
machine.
3
MR. EDWARDS:
You got to be a
So would you be -- would you
4
be going into the jury box with already fixed existing
5
opinions?
6
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
Well, yeah, like
7
I said, I just explained it clearly.
8
my experience, there's just no way to separate that.
9
MR. EDWARDS:
10
11
If that's part of
Okay.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
So that's -- I
answered your question.
12
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
Mr. Enderle,
13
thank you for your -- oh, I do have one more question.
14
And I might be sorry I asked this question.
15
respect to your wife -- and by the way, I hope that your
16
wife is doing okay.
17
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
18
happened.
19
potentially --
20
21
Yeah, nothing
But the point was that it involved
MR. EDWARDS:
Yes.
I need to ask you if it
was my law firm that you called.
22
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
23
MR. EDWARDS:
24
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
25
But with
No, it was not.
All right.
to know who it was?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Would you like
64
1
MR. EDWARDS:
2
MR. CHAVES:
3
He did say, reputable, so it's
okay to get that out.
4
5
Maybe --
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
turkeys.
They give away
That's all I need to tell you.
6
MR. EDWARDS:
7
The next one I have is No. 69, Ms. Juarez.
8
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 69:
9
MR. EDWARDS:
10
Mr. Enderle, thank you.
You have some feelings?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 69:
11
have any personal experience.
12
gentleman there.
13
injury.
14
a problem.
15
Yes.
Yeah, I don't
I'm more like that
I'm just skeptical about personal
I think it's abused and I would definitely have
MR. EDWARDS:
So if you go -- if you are
16
called by the Judge into the jury box you're gonna go
17
into that jury box carrying some fixed beliefs that you
18
come into the courtroom with and those fixed beliefs
19
against lawsuits will influence your decision in this
20
case?
21
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 69:
22
MR. EDWARDS:
23
Yes, sir.
That was a -- that was yes,
right?
24
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 69:
25
MR. EDWARDS:
Yes.
Ms. Juarez, thank you.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
65
1
Number 70, Mr. Jones.
You indicated -- did
2
you indicate that you had some feelings against personal
3
injury lawsuits?
4
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 70:
5
MR. EDWARDS:
6
Yes.
Can you explain that to us,
please?
7
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 70:
Just a general
8
negative perception regarding that, not based on direct,
9
personal experience.
10
MR. EDWARDS:
So I know that -- and I --
11
Mr. Jones, if you'll allow me to ask a few more
12
questions and dig a little deeper.
13
you, sir?
Is that okay with
14
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 70:
15
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
Sure.
So I know that --
16
what I absolutely want to honor what Mr. Enderle says
17
about, you know, when it's a personal experience, it's
18
there.
19
outside of personal experience, when they watch what's
20
going on in the world around them, and there are
21
concerted efforts to influence public opinion about
22
things, one of the things where there's been a lot of
23
pressure inserted in the public media are things like
24
lawsuit abuse.
25
billboards.
But I also know that for a lot of people, even
We see TV commercials.
We see
We see a lot of talk about lawsuit abuse.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
66
1
And I know that that impacts a lot of people.
2
even though people don't have any personal experience
3
with lawsuits, based on what they hear, they start to
4
form, they come in with strong fixed opinions about
5
personal injury lawsuits when they come into the
6
courtroom.
7
those people or not, but I want to make that inquiry to
8
you.
And Mr. Jones, I don't know if you're one of
Are you one of those people?
9
10
And so
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 70:
Well, I don't if
I'm one of those people but --
11
MR. EDWARDS:
I know, that didn't sound
12
very good, did it?
13
question again because that was a really poor question?
14
Will you allow me to ask that
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 70:
The bias is there.
Well, no, I can
15
respond.
I need to be honest about
16
that.
17
could be overcome by careful consideration of the facts,
18
and -- but nevertheless, it's there.
That's not to say I would like to think that bias
19
MR. EDWARDS:
20
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 70:
21
All right.
And I'm a big
fan of tort reform.
22
MR. EDWARDS:
23
THE COURT:
24
MR. CHAVES:
25
MR. EDWARDS:
You are?
Okay.
I'm sorry, a big fan of what?
Tort reform.
Tort reform.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
67
1
THE COURT:
2
MR. EDWARDS:
Got it.
So it sounds like you do come
3
in with some strong fixed beliefs about tort reform and
4
lawsuit abuse.
Yes?
5
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 70:
6
MR. EDWARDS:
Yes, sir.
And it sounds like they --
7
they may very well go with you into the jury box, if
8
you're put in the jury box.
9
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 70:
I would like to
10
believe that it wouldn't and I could be fair and
11
impartial, but I wouldn't know until I got there.
12
13
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
us for sure today that it won't affect you?
14
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 70:
15
MR. EDWARDS:
16
So you can't tell
Correct.
Mr. Jones, thank you for your
answers.
17
So let me come back here and I'm -- I --
18
let me speak up real quick.
Whenever I refer to "those
19
people", that was a very poor choice of words on my
20
part.
21
opinion, and you know, I have close friends -- I've got
22
close friends who just don't like what I do and we still
23
have dinner together.
24
that every one of you, every one of you have got your
25
individual opinions.
I honor -- I really do want to honor everybody's
I wish to honor every -- I know
And I honor each and every
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
68
1
individual opinion that you hold.
2
do is to fulfill my responsibility to Theresa Gamez, to
3
find out if there are people who may have feelings
4
against her case going into the jury box.
5
don't step on my tail and cause any kind of thought that
6
I'm being disrespectful.
7
please, first call me on it, and then accept my apology
8
for it.
9
And all I'm trying to
And I hope I
And if I do that by accident,
And you guys, you guys are doing great.
If
10
I may step back to my cherry pie for a minute.
You
11
know, my mother is a good southern girl.
12
a good southern girl.
13
family that you shouldn't say something in front of
14
somebody that's gonna hurt their feelings.
15
movies say, unless you say, bless your heart first.
16
you know, if we go back to that cherry pie example, if I
17
was called out to be the judge and I don't like cherry
18
pie, I would hear my mother's voice saying, you can't
19
say anything about not liking cherry pie because there's
20
a lady right there who just baked a cherry pie.
21
it's important that I overcome that social rule and
22
speak out to let the contestants know that I've got a
23
distaste for cherry pie if I'm gonna be the judge.
24
guys are doing a great job of it and I just wanted to
25
throw that -- I wanted to throw that into the mix.
She was raised
And she taught all of us in our
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Now, the
But
But
You
69
1
2
So let's come now to No. 73, is it
Mr. Gerloff?
3
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 73:
4
MR. EDWARDS:
5
Gerloff.
And you indicated that you
had some feelings against personal injury lawsuits?
6
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 73:
Yes, I do.
I
7
just -- I believe it's -- I would have personal issues
8
with being in the jury box.
9
10
MR. EDWARDS:
And can you expound on that
just a little bit?
11
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 73:
Well, like the
12
rest of everyone says, it's gotten out of hand.
13
really not something that I want to participate in, if
14
you want to know the truth about it.
15
part of it because I just don't feel it's right.
16
MR. EDWARDS:
It's
I don't want any
All right.
And it sounds
17
like you've got some strong fixed opinions about the
18
subject?
19
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 73:
20
MR. EDWARDS:
Right.
It sounds, Mr. Gerloff, like
21
if the Judge asked you to step into the jury box, that
22
those strong --
23
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 73:
24
MR. EDWARDS:
25
That's correct.
-- feelings would go with
you; yes?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
70
1
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 73:
2
MR. EDWARDS:
3
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 73:
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
(Inaudible response.)
9
THE REPORTER:
said?
Can you repeat what you
I didn't get -- what did you say?
11
12
Mr. Gerloff,
thank you for your answers.
8
10
I don't believe
so.
6
7
And you wouldn't be able to
put them aside and decide the case just on the evidence?
4
5
Correct, sir.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 73:
I said bless
your heart.
13
THE REPORTER:
Thank you.
14
MR. EDWARDS:
15
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 75:
16
MR. EDWARDS:
Next No. 75, Mr. Mendoza?
Yes.
You indicated you've got some
17
beliefs or some feelings against personal injury
18
lawsuits?
19
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 75:
Yes.
Well, I
20
said off to do that, and I've also been with the Corpus
21
Christi Fire Department for 17 years.
22
and rescue for six and a half years of that.
23
a lot of injuries, pulled out a lot of people out of
24
cars, or a burned car, whatever.
25
any -- any damage whatsoever and yet, you know, we're
I've worked fire
I've seen
You see no evidence of
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
71
1
packing people left and right, four people in a car
2
that's five miles an hour, or less, and you know, and
3
you're thinking really, you know, doing it -- we're
4
doing it, it's our job to take care of everybody.
5
see that.
6
where we're tearing up a car because somebody's really,
7
really hurt and -- and you know, I guess just depending
8
on how it's going in, I feel biased in that sense that
9
as soon as I see something that's gonna be like, oh, you
10
11
But I
But then I see the other extreme of it of
know, really, and that's what my point is on that.
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
Mr. Mendoza, I
12
appreciate you speaking up.
It sounds like based on
13
these personal experiences that you have on a daily
14
basis -- not daily -- weekly basis in your employment as
15
a firefighter, and you were talking about responding to
16
the likes of automobile wrecks, right?
17
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 75:
18
MR. EDWARDS:
19
I think our firefighters are
also paramedics?
20
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 75:
21
MR. EDWARDS:
22
Yes, sir.
So our firefighters are the
first responders when it comes to the EMS?
23
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 75:
24
MR. EDWARDS:
25
Yes, sir.
Yes.
And it sounds like based on
your personal experience and you're witnessing these
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
72
1
things that, if I read what you were saying correctly,
2
it is -- you think that people may be right there at the
3
scene starting to exaggerate what their injuries may be?
4
5
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 75:
They're seeing
dollar signs.
6
MR. EDWARDS:
Seeing dollar signs.
7
So the question of course is that, first of
8
all, it sounds like this is a strong belief, a strong
9
fixed opinion that you come in with?
10
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 75:
11
MR. EDWARDS:
12
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 75:
13
MR. EDWARDS:
Yes, sir.
It is?
Yes, sir.
And of course the question
14
is, if the Judge puts you in the jury box, is that
15
strong fixed opinion gonna go with you and influence
16
your decision in the case?
17
18
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 75:
years seeing it, yes, sir.
19
20
MR. EDWARDS:
years, yes.
All right.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 75:
22
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Mendoza,
thank you for your answers.
24
25
After so many
Is that right?
21
23
After so many
The next one I have is No. 78, Mr. -- is it
Stancher?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
73
1
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
2
MR. EDWARDS:
Yes.
Mr. Stancher, you indicated
3
that you may have some feelings against personal injury
4
lawsuits?
5
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
Well, I agree
6
with the gentleman who was expressing their -- his
7
opinion.
8
I know people also that got the short end of the payoff.
9
And I know people who make a living in this.
MR. EDWARDS:
10
All right.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
They're gonna
11
tell you honestly, when you turn on TV, what do you see?
12
Who's the big advertisers in town here?
13
on both sides because these folks, they like their
14
money.
15
from the insurance company or whoever.
16
become a racket from both sides.
17
guys, nothing at all personal.
18
maker and it's all out of control.
19
And the fault's
They're gonna collect it off of everything, take
MR. EDWARDS:
So I think it's
Nothing personal,
But it's become a money
It sounds like you just don't
20
like this system at all and it's, as you just said, it's
21
out of control.
22
23
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
control.
It is out of
I know people who make a living out of this.
24
MR. EDWARDS:
Sure.
25
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
I happen to ride
74
1
a motorcycle and I know folks who have been in
2
accidents, not been injured, but boy, it's -- the
3
payment is gonna come.
4
this -- I can't remember who there is in town that
5
defends motorcyclists, and they're at every motorcycle
6
rally.
So, the other guys here, with
It's just become a lottery.
7
MR. EDWARDS:
Sure.
Mr. Stancher, it
8
sounds like you come in with some very strong, fixed
9
opinions?
10
11
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
Oh, I have
strong opinions.
12
MR. EDWARDS:
They're --
13
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
14
MR. EDWARDS:
15
If the Judge were to pull you into the jury
Strong opinions.
-- strong opinions.
16
box, it sounds like those very strong opinions would go
17
with you, you would not be putting them aside.
18
right?
19
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
Is that
Well, I can see
20
evidence from both sides if -- frankly, the other side
21
can say, I've been involved with even doctors who are
22
paid off, bought off.
23
24
25
There's fraud all the way around.
MR. EDWARDS:
Mr. Stancher, do you want to
have anything to do with this?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
That's up to
75
1
you, but probably not.
2
I'm just being honest.
MR. EDWARDS:
3
appreciate the honesty.
4
really what this is about.
5
6
And boy, do I absolutely
I mean, it's really -- that's
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
dog in this fight.
7
MR. EDWARDS:
8
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
9
10
11
I don't have a
Yeah.
But I've read
enough about it to realize it's become a problem in this
country.
MR. EDWARDS:
Mr. Stancher, it sounds like
12
if you go into the jury box that my client, Theresa
13
Gamez, can probably think that you go into it with the
14
feeling against her case?
15
16
17
18
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
That's a crap
shoot you're gonna have to take.
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
And that's what
it would be with you is a crap shoot?
19
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
20
MR. EDWARDS:
21
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
22
MR. EDWARDS:
Probably.
Yes?
All right.
Probably.
Probably so.
And
23
by crap shoot, do -- look, we can't put -- we -- here's
24
what we cannot do --
25
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
My skepticism is
76
1
the evidence I've seen in these trials.
2
you always drag in -- each side brings in a doctor or
3
whoever it is, that will convince a jury or convince a
4
prospective jury that they've got a hurt back.
5
very end I suspect most juries say, oh, well, maybe they
6
deserve a reward here.
7
weeks of trial, four weeks of trial.
8
some phenomenal settlements in this country on this
9
stuff.
10
11
I mean, they --
They're tired of watching three
There's just been
I think it's just gotten well out of hand.
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
Mr. Stancher,
thank you very much.
12
Next is No. 79, is it Ms. Shea?
13
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 79:
14
MR. EDWARDS:
15
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 79:
16
In the
Shea.
Shea.
Like Shea
Stadium.
17
MR. EDWARDS:
Oh, of course.
18
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 79:
19
MR. EDWARDS:
There you go.
So you indicated that you may
20
have some feelings against personal injury lawsuits?
21
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 79:
22
your potential Juror No. 70 articulated it the best.
23
agree with him and I think there should be tort reform.
24
I think the settlements are outrageous.
25
bias against personal injury cases.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Yes.
I think
I have a huge
I
77
1
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
And it sounds
2
like that's going into the jury box with you if you were
3
put there?
4
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 79:
Yes, but you
5
know, if more of us would go into the jury box maybe the
6
settlements would go down.
7
MR. EDWARDS:
So --
8
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 79:
9
MR. EDWARDS:
Right?
So --
10
MR. CHAVES:
Speechless.
11
MR. BLANCO:
I did not hear you.
12
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 79:
13
You want me to
repeat it?
14
MR. BLANCO:
15
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 79:
16
of us with a bias against large settlements would go
17
into the jury box, perhaps the settlements would go
18
down.
19
MR. BLANCO:
20
MR. EDWARDS:
I did not hear you, ma'am.
I said, if more
I agree.
Yes.
Here's what concerns
21
me, is that if you go into the jury box, you're going in
22
with a very strong fixed opinion?
23
24
25
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 79:
Which is why I
said I have a problem.
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
And you're not
78
1
gonna --
2
3
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 79:
honest.
4
5
MR. EDWARDS:
Oh, I tell you, Ms. Shea,
thank you very much for your honesty.
6
7
I'm being
I appreciate it.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 79:
You're gonna
pick me anyway.
8
MR. CHAVES:
9
MR. EDWARDS:
Hang in there.
Finally, No. 80, Mr. Nunez.
10
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 80:
11
MR. EDWARDS:
Yes, sir.
You indicated that you've got
12
a bias -- I'm sorry, you've got some feelings against
13
personal injury lawsuits?
14
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 80:
Yes, sir.
15
Because nowadays it's more about the cash and less about
16
the pain.
17
less about the pain, you know.
They all want like a real big, big check and
They all want big bucks.
18
MR. EDWARDS:
19
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 80:
20
21
22
Yeah.
not that much, but they want a big lump sum.
MR. EDWARDS:
Sounds like this is a strong,
fixed opinion that you come in with.
23
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 80:
24
MR. EDWARDS:
25
And the pain is
Yes, sir.
If you were put in the jury
box by the Judge, are you gonna take that strong, fixed
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
79
1
opinion with you into the jury box?
2
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 80:
I think I would.
3
But I would have to listen to both sides and see what --
4
where what happened.
5
6
I don't know.
MR. EDWARDS:
Sure.
Sir, remember the
German Shepherd I was talking about?
7
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 80:
8
MR. EDWARDS:
9
Gary?
You know, that German
Shepherd, I said that I couldn't be a good juror in a
10
case involving a German Shepherd that bit somebody
11
because if I heard conflicting evidence, I know where I
12
would go.
13
questioned by a lawyer, I could say, well, you know, it
14
depends on how the evidence goes.
15
honestly into my heart, I will tell you that the dog is
16
starting off behind in this lawsuit, and if I hear
17
anything that confirms what I believe about that dog,
18
I'm gonna hold it against the dog.
19
what I'm saying?
20
21
22
And if I was sitting out here being
But if I look
Do you understand
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 80:
(Nodding head up
and down.)
MR. EDWARDS:
Mr. Nunez, it sounds like you
23
are coming in with a strong, fixed opinion about
24
somebody who brings a personal injury lawsuit and until
25
you're shown otherwise, that bias is gonna be there with
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
80
1
you.
2
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 80:
3
MR. EDWARDS:
4
All right.
Yes, sir.
Thank you,
Mr. Nunez.
5
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 80:
6
MR. EDWARDS:
Thank you.
So we've been dancing around
7
this next question some.
8
market survey real quick.
9
or my law firm, the Edwards Law Firm on TV?
10
I guess I could do a quick
How many of you have seen me
(A show of hands.)
11
MR. EDWARDS:
12
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 20:
13
Pretty much --
question, sir?
14
MR. EDWARDS:
15
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 20:
16
question?
17
18
25
Oh, who here has seen me or
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 20:
What was your
name?
MR. EDWARDS:
I'm Billy Edwards and the law
firm is the Edwards Law Firm.
23
24
What was the
my law firm on TV advertised?
21
22
Pretty much everybody.
I didn't hear it.
MR. EDWARDS:
19
20
What was the
So pretty much everybody.
Anybody here not seen me or my law firm on
the TV?
All right.
I'm gonna report this.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 30:
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
I just moved
81
1
from California, so I don't watch the news, TV.
2
3
MR. BLANCO:
Great.
4
5
MR. EDWARDS:
people haven't seen us.
6
7
Someone from California.
I'm gonna report that five
So --
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
Sue your
advertiser.
8
MR. EDWARDS:
Sue my advertiser.
9
So look, you know, my father has been in
10
business for 50 years here.
11
in 1958.
12
his practice to personal injury -- representing injured
13
people in personal injury lawsuits.
14
in 1963.
15
decision to go up on TV.
16
on TV until the U.S. Supreme Court said, you can't fight
17
it anymore and the Bar had to relent and let us go up on
18
TV.
19
He came to Corpus Christi
He was the first lawyer to, in town, to limit
And he started that
The hardest decision that he ever made was the
He fought lawyer advertising
Now, that may be a great story that I carry
20
with me.
But what I need to know is, the fact that you
21
see me advertising on TV, you see my father advertising
22
on TV, and you see our law firm advertising on TV, I
23
need to know if that's going to affect Theresa Gamez and
24
her case here in this courtroom.
25
with the fact that standing in front of you is a TV
Anybody have a problem
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
82
1
advertising lawyer?
2
Number 54.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
3
separate your face from being in TV.
4
place.
Okay.
You can't
It's all over the
5
MR. EDWARDS:
So No. 54, that was --
6
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
7
MR. EDWARDS:
Enderle.
-- Mr. Enderle, thank you.
8
saw 12.
9
that -- the fact that I'm up on TV, does that impact a
10
And before I come to you, Mr. Enderle, will
decision that you might render in this case?
11
12
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
Probably 90
percent chance that it will.
13
MR. EDWARDS:
14
Ms. Arias.
15
with the TV advertisement?
16
17
All right.
And then No. 12,
You indicated that you might have a problem
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 12:
(Nodding head up
and down.)
18
MR. EDWARDS:
19
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 12:
Yes?
Yeah, because
20
one of the commercials you aired on TV, I actually took
21
care of one of the little people that was --
22
MR. EDWARDS:
23
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 12:
24
25
I
Oh, okay.
-- on the
commercial.
MR. EDWARDS:
And you just don't care for
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
83
1
that kind of thing?
2
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 12:
3
MR. EDWARDS:
No, I don't.
And will that affect -- the
4
fact that I'm up on TV advertising and seeing this
5
particular commercial that you're referring to, sounds
6
like that would influence your decision in this case?
7
8
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 12:
(Nodding head up
and down.)
9
MR. EDWARDS:
Yes?
10
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 12:
11
MR. EDWARDS:
Yes.
Anybody else?
And I gotta
12
tell you, when I sit down to watch an NFL football game,
13
I'm flipping channels, when I see my competitors up
14
there, you know.
15
my own.
16
And I flip it even faster when I see
Anybody else that, you know, that has a
17
problem with, you got a TV advertising lawyer standing
18
in front of you?
19
(No audible or visible response.)
20
MR. EDWARDS:
21
Judge, may I ask, I think I noted the time.
22
All right.
Thank you.
Did I start at 10:00?
23
THE COURT:
24
MR. EDWARDS:
25
THE COURT:
No.
You started at 10:55.
Oh, at 10:55.
Am I correct on that?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
84
1
MR. CHAVES:
2
THE COURT:
3
MR. EDWARDS:
4
THE COURT:
10:55.
Yeah, 10:55.
Oh, okay.
I probably will break in about
5
-- when you've gone an hour and a half.
6
MR. EDWARDS:
7
THE COURT:
8
Okay.
So that will be about 11:25 --
12:25.
9
MR. EDWARDS:
10
THE COURT:
11
MR. EDWARDS:
So about another 15 minutes.
Yeah.
All right.
So, let me -- the
12
Judge spoke to you about -- oh, and I'm -- Mr. Hinojosa,
13
I thought I saw you nodding your head in agreement with
14
some people that were talking about their experiences
15
and what have you, with personal injury lawsuits.
16
meant to circle back around to you and ask, are you
17
still good with your original answer?
And I
18
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
Uh-huh.
19
MR. EDWARDS:
You can set it
20
aside?
21
22
23
24
25
All right.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
Yes, I can still
MR. EDWARDS:
I just wanted to
set it aside.
All right.
touch base with you on that.
So the Judge -- Judge Watts spoke about she
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
85
1
gives the law and the jury becomes the fact finder.
And
2
it's important that the jurors be comfortable not only
3
with the parties and the subject matter, but there --
4
that the jury is also comfortable with the law, and that
5
they will be able to actually follow the law, in certain
6
respects.
7
damages, what we call, damages.
8
essentially, is a legal word for a measurement of
9
injury.
So one of those respects is the type of
10
And damages,
The law provides for different types of
11
damages flowing from a personal injury.
Now, some are
12
called -- we refer to them as actual economic damage.
13
And what that means is, it is something where you're
14
mostly talking about dollars out-of-pocket, medical
15
expense, lost wages and what we call, loss of wage
16
earning capacity, the ability to get and keep
17
employment.
18
problem or feelings against the award of full economic
19
damages?
20
earning capacity?
Which of you, if any, have any kind of
Medical expenses, and wages and lost wage
Any problems there?
21
(No audible or visible response.)
22
MR. EDWARDS:
And if it is shown -- if the
23
evidence shows that those economic damages are large, do
24
we all agree that the compensation for these economic
25
damages should be complete, even if it's a large amount?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
86
1
Yes, ma'am?
2
3
4
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 5:
Can you define
"large?"
MR. EDWARDS:
You know, large is a, like
5
beauty, in the eyes of the beholder.
6
good question.
7
get into the specific evidence of -- on any given
8
particular point.
9
and let me get, for the record, I'm visiting with No. 5,
10
11
But that's a very
And here's the thing.
We don't want to
And I guess what I'm looking for --
Ms. Torres, right?
My question right now has to do with these
12
economic damages and whether you consider -- whether you
13
as an individual consider them small or large, are you
14
open to considering the full amount of economic damages
15
even if it's something that you call, large?
16
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 5:
Yeah.
17
MR. EDWARDS:
18
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 5:
Sure.
19
MR. EDWARDS:
Anybody else have
You're okay with that?
All right.
20
a question or a concern about full economic damages?
21
Yes, sir, No. 10.
22
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 10:
Actually, I
23
guess I should have spoken up earlier, but I had, I
24
guess, two personal incidents, one where I was driving a
25
standard truck and my foot slipped off the clutch and I
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
87
1
rear-ended a lady and her son.
She was in her mid to
2
late 50's, he was in his 30's.
They denied ambulance
3
services and everything and everybody went their own
4
ways.
And then three or four months later I was getting
5
sued.
And I think they settled out of court for like
6
$750 bucks.
7
The second one was, my wife was giving a
8
prescription, she was having a lot of morning sickness
9
when she was pregnant and of course, that advertisement
10
came out on TV that if any women that were nursing were
11
given this, you know, prescription or drug, and had any
12
birth defects, that they could, you know, call this
13
number and you know, money was given out, pretty much.
14
And my daughter was born with a heart murmur and is
15
getting better and she's fine, there's nothing wrong,
16
but I just feel that in a personal injury, if it's not a
17
very serious injury, don't abuse it.
18
injured, you know, pursue it, that's fine.
19
mine, as long as my daughter's healthy, that's all that
20
matters to me.
21
to get a settlement of 3.8 million or whatever else is
22
advertised on TV.
But I mean, if the evidence is good,
23
yeah, I'm for it.
But if it's just, you know, a simple
24
oh, I had a little bit of neck pain or something and
25
they're making it into a $10 million dollar suit, well,
But if you are
But like in
I'm not going to go out and find -- try
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
88
1
I'm against that, you know.
2
3
MR. EDWARDS:
for sharing that with us.
4
Okay.
Mr. Amaya, thank you
I appreciate that.
Now, and you did that in response to my
5
question about economic damages.
Was that -- were you
6
just raising your hand going, you know what, maybe I
7
ought to talk about --
8
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 10:
9
MR. EDWARDS:
10
Yes.
-- what we were talking about
a little earlier?
11
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 10:
12
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
Yes.
Thank you for
13
that.
Anything about that, about your experience there,
14
such that if you went into this jury box, you would take
15
a fixed opinion with you, a strong, fixed opinion into
16
the jury box that we -- that this side, the plaintiff's
17
side, would have to overcome?
18
19
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 10:
No, I don't
think so.
20
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
21
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 10:
Because I mean,
22
if there was serious -- my daughter had serious health
23
issues, I'd just expect for the, maybe the hospital
24
bills to be paid and after that, you know, I'm fine with
25
that.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
89
1
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
2
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 10:
But, no I don't
3
have any fixed opinion.
I'm very open-minded to both
4
sides, and what's fair is fair and it's black and white.
5
MR. EDWARDS:
6
Number 16, Mr. Miller, I think you raised
7
your hand about the economic?
8
9
Mr. Amaya, thank you.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
question.
I have a
Are you talking specifically medical and
10
physical compensation, or are you including damages as
11
well?
12
13
MR. EDWARDS:
is that what you're getting to?
14
15
Like mental anguish damages,
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
Is that
including all compensation?
16
MR. EDWARDS:
No, I'm talking right now
17
about -- what I'm trying to do is break it into two
18
parts.
19
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
20
MR. EDWARDS:
Okay.
And the first part that I'm
21
-- was going to visit with you about is what we call
22
economic damages, that is, it's kind of like dollars out
23
of the pocket.
24
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
25
MR. EDWARDS:
Right.
Medical expense, both past
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
90
1
and future, and lost wages in the past and lost of wage
2
earning capacity.
3
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
4
MR. EDWARDS:
5
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
6
MR. EDWARDS:
Right, okay.
You're okay with those?
Sure.
Even if it's -- if the
7
evidence showed that that's a large amount, and that the
8
person was entitled to those, and large being large in
9
your mind, you would be okay with awarding the full
10
amount of those economic damages?
11
12
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
the compensation, absolutely.
13
MR. EDWARDS:
14
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
15
All right.
If it's a
medical bill and everything is agreed.
16
MR. EDWARDS:
17
Did I see some other?
18
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 45:
19
If she was due
Good.
Thank you.
I just have a
question.
20
MR. EDWARDS:
Yes.
Number 45.
21
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 45:
With you asking
22
the question the way it is, it's not an option for us to
23
agree to less than that amount that you're gonna present
24
for economical damages.
25
MR. EDWARDS:
Here's -- and you're
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
91
1
Ms. Spear?
2
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 45:
3
MR. EDWARDS:
Okay.
Yes.
Here's the question
4
that I'm trying to get to.
If the jury -- the jury will
5
be asked about economic damages.
6
evidence about the economic damages.
7
may be conflicting evidence, you know, we've put on some
8
evidence of what the economic loss is, you know, medical
9
bills in the past and future, and wages in the past and
And there will be
And there -- there
10
loss of wage earning capacity in the past and in the
11
future, these things that we call, economic damages.
12
And the defense may very well put on some evidence that
13
contradicts it, you know, that they say, you know, the
14
evidence that they put on is too much.
15
is perfectly capable and asked to weigh that conflicting
16
evidence and come to a decision about what is the proper
17
amount.
18
Look, the jury
So the question that I'm trying to get to
19
is this:
If you come to a decision about what the
20
proper amount is, and then you look at it and go, oh,
21
man, that's a large amount, we need to reduce it.
22
you see what I'm talking -- do you see the difference
23
I'm talking about?
24
based on the evidence, even if it's conflicting
25
evidence, but it's another thing to look at the final
Do
It's one thing to make a decision
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
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1
product and go, oh, wait, that's just too large to give
2
in a personal injury lawsuit.
3
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 45:
I think I have
4
some bias only because I feel like there's a team behind
5
your team, you know, that you send them to the doctor.
6
You send them to therapy, therapy, therapy, therapy, you
7
know.
8
elevated.
9
life, if that person that was injured did it on their
Yeah, all that gets elevated.
Those costs get
So you'll be able to show that, but in real
10
own, without your team of teams, that -- that cost
11
wouldn't be that cost.
12
MR. EDWARDS:
And Ms. Spear, I certainly
13
appreciate you bringing this important point up.
And it
14
sounds like -- it sounds like you come in with a belief
15
that -- about, you know, this team of teams that you're
16
talking about.
17
No?
And you come in with a fixed opinion.
18
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 45:
19
MR. EDWARDS:
20
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 45:
I don't.
You don't?
If I'm gonna get
21
to hear both sides of the story, I'm not fixed either
22
way.
23
going to be a point where we could agree on a lesser --
24
not that it's too big, but just that there's gonna be --
25
I just wanted to ask that question, if there's
MR. EDWARDS:
So here's -- generally --
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
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1
generally, this is what we're trying to -- what I'm
2
trying to get to.
3
know, economic damages, the medical expenses, the future
4
medical expense is this much.
5
on evidence that says, you know, she's got some economic
6
damage here, but what they're asking for in the future
7
is too much, it really ought to be this much.
8
is possible for the jury to just reject it all because
9
the jury is -- the jury has got an amazing amount of
Our evidence on this side may be, you
And the defense may put
Now, it
10
discretion.
11
decision is gonna be based on the evidence and there's
12
gonna be an award of economic damages, generally, it's
13
gonna be between this high point and this lower point
14
somewhere in here.
15
But generally speaking, the -- if a
MR. CHAVES:
Your Honor, we are gonna
16
object to that interpretation.
17
based on the credible evidence, whatever the jury
18
believes.
19
THE COURT:
20
MR. CHAVES:
21
22
The evidence must be
Let me see if I can explain it.
They don't have to do it
between -THE COURT:
I think you're getting to the
23
fact of the weight and value, okay?
You're going to
24
hear evidence from the plaintiff's side and you're gonna
25
hear evidence from the defense side.
And you're going
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
94
1
-- you may hear conflicting evidence as to what those
2
economic damages are.
3
then going to give weight and value to what you heard
4
from the witnesses that gave you the testimony with
5
regards to those economic damages.
6
jury room, that's what the deliberations are all about.
7
You're gonna share your ideas on how much weight to give
8
this witness, and how much value to put on this
9
evidence, and then you come out with a consensus,
10
All right.
You, as a jury, are
When you're in that
hopefully, okay, as to what that is.
11
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 45:
12
THE COURT:
Thank you.
But the law is not gonna tell
13
you, you must do this with regards to filling in the
14
blanks on damages, all right?
15
16
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
Can I ask you a
question in mind, Judge?
17
THE COURT:
Yes.
18
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
I've done some
19
reading on the definition of a jury.
20
it changed, and I haven't figured out where it changed
21
from, but a jury used to mean a jury of your peers.
22
your peer was actually somebody who knows the defendant
23
and their character and knows the plaintiff and their
24
character.
25
And I don't where
And
When did that all change?
THE COURT:
We went to random selection.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
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1
You can -- you can know the plaintiff.
2
can know them.
3
or that relationship prevent you from being fair to both
4
sides.
5
As I said, you
The question is, is would that knowledge
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
Well, they can
6
do their character, it would be fair, is what I'm
7
getting at.
8
9
10
THE COURT:
Well, it may or may not be.
Some people have some very strong opinions and strong
biases.
11
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
12
THE COURT:
13
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
Okay.
Okay.
It is 12:25.
Yes, sir?
I have one more
14
question since we're on medical and stuff like that.
15
we have a personal medical issue, do I just talk to you
16
about that or do I just say it or?
17
18
THE COURT:
If
I'm gonna break everybody and
if you have that, we will stay and listen to that, okay?
19
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
20
THE COURT:
All right.
All right.
But everybody needs
21
to have a lunch at this point.
It is 12:25.
I'm gonna
22
ask you to be back at 1:45.
23
longer than an hour, but not quite an hour and a half.
24
I will tell you that there is a food court at the
25
American Bank Plaza building that has about six or seven
Now that gives you a little
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
96
1
cuisines.
2
courthouse, but I need you back on time.
3
will sit here waiting for everybody to come in, and then
4
the last one that comes in 20 minutes late gets to do
5
the walk of shame, okay?
6
everybody's time.
7
There's various places.
You may leave the
Because we
So, please be courteous of
By the way, we are not gonna break for the
8
day and bring all this panel back.
9
this jury today so we will work until we get a jury, all
10
right?
11
that you can come back hopefully in front of the line.
12
other members of the jury panel.)
THE COURT:
to talk with us.
17
18
Keep your numbers so
(The following are discussions outside
15
16
Be careful.
(Jury panel exits courtroom for recess.)
13
14
All right.
We are gonna get
All right.
I need everybody before me.
All right.
Let's deal with Juror No. 4.
Do you mind with the other ones present?
19
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
20
THE COURT:
21
Juror No. 4 wanted
All right.
No, no.
You had asked to
address the Court?
22
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
Yeah.
Well,
23
yesterday when I came and I went, you know, how it has
24
the exceptions thing.
25
me.
None of them really pertained to
So I went up there anyway and they said, no, sit
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
97
1
down, they'll hear others later.
2
because it was a long line.
3
had left.
4
Pat.
5
go through, you're probably gonna go.
6
on the panel.
7
I back up and I told them what my situation was.
8
said, oh, don't worry about it, because as soon as you
9
go see the Judge.
10
11
I went to the bathroom
Well, Ms. -- Judge Galvan,
So I came back and sat down.
She said, don't worry about it.
I talked to
Let the process
Now, I got picked
So as soon as I get picked on the panel,
They
Well, I haven't had a chance to.
THE COURT:
Well, now's your chance.
Tell
us.
12
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
Okay.
Usually --
13
well, tomorrow I have an appointment with Dr. Charles
14
Breckenridge because I have a tear, a lateral tear and I
15
have a tear in my shoulder and a bursitis.
16
supposed to have surgery before the end of the year so
17
I'm afraid it's gonna, you know, conflict with me being
18
here.
19
THE COURT:
20
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
21
So I'm
Okay.
Or not being
here.
22
THE COURT:
All right.
23
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
And here's the
24
deal.
If -- let's say if you were to pick me, okay, and
25
I had to reschedule everything, it's gonna cost me some
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
98
1
money because insurances are changing.
2
right now has already been met.
3
my co-pay, $150 and I'm done.
4
year, then I gotta start over and it's gonna cost me
5
over $3800 bucks.
6
7
THE COURT:
discuss that.
My deductible
All I have to do is pay
If I wait till after the
All right.
We'll need to
Anybody have any questions?
8
MR. CHAVES:
No questions.
9
MR. BLANCO:
Are you in pain right now?
10
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
Right now?
Yeah.
11
I can't, well, I can't go this far.
12
but it's a -- for some reason, lateral or something, but
13
I can't reach over head or anything like that or, you
14
know.
15
16
THE COURT:
I can go this way,
I'm gonna ask you to go ahead
and go to lunch.
17
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
18
THE COURT:
Okay.
And my bailiff will let you
19
know at the beginning of the next session whether or not
20
you are excused or not.
21
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
22
THE COURT:
23
MR. WARREN:
24
25
Okay.
Okay.
We've got four good lawyers
that also moonlight as surgeons so we can get that done.
THE COURT:
All right.
You're the one that
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
99
1
came up second too.
What would you like to address?
2
THE REPORTER:
What number are you, sir?
3
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 80:
4
Well, I'm just here cause at 12:00 at night
Number 80.
5
I start my vacation and I already got plans.
6
wife already have plans for --
7
THE COURT:
8
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 80:
9
What plans?
Well, we're just
gonna go -- she likes to go shopping so.
10
THE COURT:
11
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 80:
In Corpus Christi?
12
Houston, we're gonna go to Houston --
13
THE COURT:
14
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 80:
15
Me and my
No, no.
I go to
I got you.
-- and Austin
and just --
16
THE COURT:
17
MR. CHAVES:
18
THE COURT:
All right.
Any questions?
No questions.
What I'll ask you to do is go
19
ahead and come back after the lunch hour and
20
Mr. Gallegos will have these numbers that we're talking
21
about, and he will let you know.
22
23
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 80:
Okay, ma'am.
Thank you for your help.
24
THE COURT:
Very good.
25
Ma'am, would you like to come forward?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
100
1
This is Juror No. 60.
2
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 60:
60.
I wear
3
hearing aids and so I can understand you perfectly.
4
you get kind of soft, and not speaking into the speaker.
5
I have a hard time understanding some words.
6
THE COURT:
Okay.
That is an admonition
7
for all of the lawyers that we need to speak up.
8
raise your hand.
9
we will take that into consideration.
I can't hear, okay?
Do you have any?
MR. CHAVES:
11
THE COURT:
12
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 60:
13
MR. CHAVES:
14
THE COURT:
No questions.
No questions?
Mr. Gallegos will have your
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 53:
fun.
18
her 80th birthday cruise next week.
19
is two and a half weeks.
Mine's kind of
I and my family are scheduled to take my mother on
20
THE COURT:
When I heard this
It's a shame you won't be able
to go with them.
22
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 53:
23
MR. CHAVES:
25
Thank you.
Thank you.
17
24
Go have lunch.
number.
16
21
And
And so we're --
10
15
But
So what cruise are we all
going on?
THE COURT:
I know.
Yeah.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
101
1
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 53:
2
MR. CHAVES:
3
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 53:
I'm glad to hear
I might still be going.
6
7
We'll try the case from the
back deck.
4
5
A Bahama cruise.
THE COURT:
You might still be going.
Any
questions?
8
MR. CHAVES:
9
THE COURT:
No questions.
All right.
We're gonna talk
10
about it and Mr. Gallegos will tell you as soon as you
11
come back from lunch.
12
13
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 53:
Thank you,
ma'am.
14
THE COURT:
15
MR. EDWARDS:
16
THE COURT:
All right.
Sir?
He's with me.
Oh, he's with you.
17
Let's talk about the four that came up here.
18
my notes.
19
20
All right.
23
24
25
Let me get
The first one was Juror No. 4,
he's the one with the rotator cuff.
21
22
Okay.
MR. BLANCO:
He's having surgery,
MR. CHAVES:
Well, he's not having surgery
Your Honor.
in the next two weeks.
MR. BLANCO:
Yeah, he is.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
102
1
MR. CHAVES:
2
THE COURT:
I thought he's gonna -No, he's gonna have his surgery
3
before the end of the year because he's met his
4
deductible.
5
I heard.
If he doesn't, it'll cost him $3800 is what
Any objection to releasing him?
6
MR. CHAVES:
7
THE COURT:
8
MR. WARREN:
10
THE COURT:
Then he's not
I'll join in that objection.
I'll let him know you're --
no --
12
MR. WARREN:
13
THE BAILIFF:
14
All right.
released.
9
11
I do object, Judge.
Yeah, really.
Sorry, Judge.
Did you say
not released?
15
THE COURT:
Not released.
He'll have to
16
stay for the rest of the voir dire.
17
you express it to them that the attorneys feel that
18
you'll have to stay for the rest of the voir dire.
19
20
Okay.
Next is the, Juror No. 80.
MR. CHAVES:
I think he wanted to go
shopping.
23
THE COURT:
24
MR. CHAVES:
25
I can't
remember.
21
22
And that's the way
anything?
I want to go shopping.
Does the Court have to hear
He's not gonna get reached anyway, but --
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
103
1
2
THE COURT:
I think it will be a challenge for cause on it.
3
MR. EDWARDS:
4
THE COURT:
5
MR. WARREN:
Okay.
So we'll let Mr. 80 go.
I'd say let's have him come
back.
8
9
There is.
Is that -- agreement?
6
7
He's not gonna get reached and
THE COURT:
All right.
Mr. 80 has to stay
for the afternoon.
10
MR. WARREN:
My suspicion is he won't be
11
reached or if there's a possibility he might be struck,
12
but I won't concede that he'll been struck.
13
14
THE COURT:
No, I'm not conceding anything.
I listed what I heard.
15
MR. WARREN:
16
THE COURT:
Right.
The next one was the lady who
17
is having problems hearing.
18
to all of you.
19
because she may --
You've got to speak into the mike
20
MR. CHAVES:
21
THE COURT:
22
Raise your voice.
And I would say that you start
and say, raise your hand if you can't hear me any time.
23
MR. WARREN:
24
THE COURT:
25
That was just an admonition
back.
Right.
All right.
So she's coming
And Number 53 with the cruise?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
104
1
2
MR. WARREN:
presented it, that he's already prepaid his tickets.
3
4
I suspect from the way he
THE COURT:
Oh, yeah.
They don't let you
get on until you're prepaid.
5
MR. WARREN:
6
THE COURT:
7
MR. EDWARDS:
8
MR. BLANCO:
Yes, Your Honor.
9
MR. CHAVES:
Yes.
10
11
THE COURT:
MR. CHAVES:
THE COURT:
There's a potential challenge
I think there was a potential,
All right.
And we allow 53 to
go?
16
MR. BLANCO:
17
THE COURT:
18
Yes.
yeah.
14
15
Everybody in agreement?
for cause there.
12
13
Right, yes.
Yes.
By agreement, excused.
other three will be with us for the afternoon.
All the
Okay.
19
MR. WARREN:
Thank you, Your Honor.
20
MR. CHAVES:
We're back at 1:45, Judge?
21
THE COURT:
22
MR. CHAVES:
23
(Noon recess.)
24
(Outside presence of the jury panel.)
25
(The following bench conference was held.)
Yes.
Thank you, Your Honor.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
105
1
THE COURT:
Okay.
We got two more juror
2
problems.
No. 76 is Angel -- Angela Fernandez, she's
3
76.
4
her cell phone when she left over the lunch hour and her
5
mother was rushed to the hospital.
6
Bayview and so she said she didn't know if she was gonna
7
make it back.
I think she -- no, she was not.
8
9
MR. WARREN:
THE COURT:
Doesn't she have -- she has a
I don't -- well, no that's an
exemption, but you have to claim it.
12
13
Her mother is in
right to excuse herself anyway, age exempt?
10
11
Her -- she checked
MR. WARREN:
Right, if she claimed it so.
Okay.
14
THE COURT:
The other one, No. 40,
15
approached, Art, my bailiff and says he has a bad upper
16
respiratory infection and Art says he sounds horrible.
17
So I'm just bringing those things to your attention.
18
don't think -- my take on this is we're not gonna get to
19
Juror No. 78.
20
21
22
23
MR. WARREN:
I
I think you're right,
Your Honor.
THE COURT:
So is there an agreement to
excuse her for cause?
24
MR. CHAVES:
25
THE COURT:
I think -Because she's not here because
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
106
1
her mother's in the hospital.
2
MR. CHAVES:
3
THE COURT:
-- I'll agree.
All right.
Then 76 is excused.
4
No. 40, what do you want to do about him?
5
He thinks he needs to go to the doctor.
He is sick.
6
MR. WARREN:
Only if he stands over there.
7
MR. BLANCO:
Only if he stands over there.
8
THE COURT:
9
want to do.
10
MR. EDWARDS:
11
MR. BLANCO:
12
bring him up to talk.
13
infection.
14
15
16
17
18
19
Number 40, whether we're gonna
This is not the fellow with the -MR. WARREN:
With the flu.
No, we let him
go earlier.
MR. EDWARDS:
So, I mean, we -- I don't
think we want a sick person on the jury.
MR. CHAVES:
Well, nobody wants a sick
person on the jury.
MS. BELTRAN:
21
THE COURT:
Don't let them hear -Do you want to bring him up so
you can hear him?
23
MR. EDWARDS:
24
THE COURT:
25
Say that again.
He has a bad respiratory
20
22
Look at it and see what you
Sure.
I'll step aside.
Would you ask Juror No. 40 to
step forward, please.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
107
1
(Juror 40 approaches.)
2
3
THE COURT:
you're not feeling well; is that right?
4
5
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 40:
THE COURT:
Okay.
And have you been sick
for a while?
8
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 40:
9
THE COURT:
10
That's correct,
ma'am.
6
7
Mr. Gallegos advised that
No.
When did you get sick?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 40:
Well, my wife
11
has the respiratory infection and my grandchild is now
12
getting it, so.
13
THE COURT:
14
MR. EDWARDS:
15
MR. WARREN:
16
THE COURT:
17
All right.
No questions, Your Honor.
You didn't have to whisper.
It's -- it's up there.
What do
you want to do?
18
MR. EDWARDS:
19
MR. CHAVES:
20
THE COURT:
21
Okay.
I'm -I don't have any questions.
All right.
Then if you'll step
back, we'll make a decision here shortly.
22
(Prospective Juror No. 40 exits courtroom.)
23
THE COURT:
24
MR. CHAVES:
(Nodding head up and down.)
25
MR. WARREN:
Yes.
Agreed?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
108
1
THE COURT:
Mr. Gallegos, would you advise
2
Mr. -- Juror No. 40, he may leave and go to the doctor.
3
He sounds bad.
4
(Brief recess.)
5
(Jury panel seated in courtroom.)
6
THE COURT:
Mr. Gallegos has advised me
7
that all the jurors are present and on time.
8
that kind of jury.
9
All right.
10
MR. EDWARDS:
11
THE COURT:
12
MR. EDWARDS:
13
14
I like
We're ready to proceed.
May it please the Court?
Yes.
Thank you.
Earlier today, I don't think
I had my microphone on and I -- is this better?
Good.
If anybody has -- during the remainder of
15
this time, if -- if anybody has any difficulty hearing,
16
please hold your hand up and we will certainly turn up
17
our volume, okay?
18
So, I started to go into a subject before
19
lunch and I'm gonna move ahead to another subject.
And
20
I will tell you, you're probably gonna be glad to hear
21
that I'm running short of time.
22
try to speed my process up.
23
productive morning.
24
up in the next bit of time that I have remaining --
25
remaining on my clock.
So what I'm gonna do is
I thought we had a very
I'm gonna try to speed the process
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
109
1
So we started to talk about damages before
2
lunch.
Now, one element of damage that often gets
3
talked about a lot are mental anguish -- damages for
4
mental anguish and damages for physical pain and
5
suffering.
6
close friends, I have friends who just tell me, Billy, I
7
like -- you know, I like you as a guy, as a friend, but
8
you know, I just don't believe in those mental anguish
9
damages and I don't believe in those damages, the awards
And I know, just from my experience and my
10
for pain and suffering.
And I know there's lots of good
11
reasons that some people have those kinds of feelings.
12
It can be that, you know, awards -- jury awards for
13
mental anguish damages are just too high.
14
anguish damages don't award for money out-of-pocket,
15
like the medical expenses and wages.
16
good reasons for it, and if I had more time, I would
17
circle through row by row and find out who has some
18
feelings against mental anguish damages.
19
I'm starting to run short on time, what I'm gonna do is
20
just jump right ahead to the pressing question.
21
and I hope that you will allow me to do that.
22
that we're here to talk honestly, to share our opinions
23
about things, and it was, I thought a very productive
24
morning this morning.
25
the question.
That mental
I know there's
But because
We -Remember
And so let me just jump right to
Which of you here, if the law allows and
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
110
1
the evidence supports an award of money damages for
2
mental anguish damages -- for mental anguish or pain and
3
suffering, which of you here would still be unable to
4
make that kind of an award of damages?
5
my notes here real quick.
We've got No. 4,
6
Mr. Hinojosa.
Number 16, Mr. Miller, No.
7
37, Mr. Horowitz, No. 12, Ms. Arias, No. 48, there we
8
go, 48, and 78, 79, and 72.
9
you, if -- if we were clear with one another on that
Thank you.
So let me make
So Mr. Miller, let me ask
10
question and answer.
11
us today that regardless of what the evidence may show
12
about mental anguish or pain and suffering, you just
13
don't think you could award any damages, any money for
14
those types of damages?
15
Do I understand you to be telling
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
I think it's
16
subjective, don't you?
You put up a -- a figure and you
17
want us to decide yes or no on that figure based on
18
their mental anguish.
19
of mental anguish she's going through or is going to be
20
going through.
But I don't really know what kind
21
MR. EDWARDS:
Sure.
22
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
And that's
23
definitely sort of affecting things in my life,
24
certainly in my business.
25
the amount of money that goes into mental anguish and
So I find it reprehensible,
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
111
1
pain and so on.
Again, I feel it's subjective.
2
think it's quite lucrative to be on the other side
3
receiving it, but there's a great many of us on the
4
other side who have to pay that.
5
MR. EDWARDS:
6
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
7
All right.
MR. EDWARDS:
9
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
Absolutely.
MR. EDWARDS:
And thank you for your
answer, Mr. Miller.
13
And Mr. Horowitz, are we clear on the
14
question and answer theory?
15
evidence may be, you just couldn't --
Regardless of what the
16
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 37:
17
MR. EDWARDS:
18
There's a huge
bias in there.
11
12
And that affects
my business tremendously.
8
10
And I
No.
-- you couldn't find yourself
answering -- giving an award for mental anguish?
19
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 37:
I can't give
20
somebody ahead of time because they may feel bad about
21
something, can't sleep in the same room with somebody or
22
something.
23
24
25
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
And so you just
couldn't award those types of damages?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 37:
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
No.
112
1
MR. EDWARDS:
You couldn't.
No.
So let me
2
circle back through.
3
No. 37, Mr. Horowitz, that you just couldn't simply
4
award that kind of damage?
5
Ms. Arias, do you agree with
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 12:
I can see pain
6
and suffering is, but I don't see how putting money on
7
mental anguish would help.
8
understand, because that's long-term, you've got to deal
9
with pain management, therapy, so on down the line.
10
I don't see how, I mean, to me -- I'm going through
11
something myself, you know, injuries myself, pain and
12
suffering.
13
on that.
I mean, pain and suffering I
There's no amount of money that you can put
14
MR. EDWARDS:
15
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 12:
Sure.
16
something that you've got to deal with.
17
MR. EDWARDS:
It's just
And I know that I've heard
18
other people say that that's another reason for not
19
awarding mental anguish damages.
20
saying is, if you're on this jury, you don't want to
21
have to award mental anguish damages?
22
And what I hear you
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 12:
I can see pain
23
and suffering, yes, because that is something.
24
wages, yes.
25
But
MR. EDWARDS:
Lost
But not mental anguish?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
113
1
2
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 12:
that would -- I -- I personally, I don't think I could.
3
MR. EDWARDS:
4
Let's see.
5
Thank you.
Mr. Hinojosa, you indicated
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
with No. 37, Mr. Horowitz.
8
9
All right.
that you would not?
6
7
I don't see how
MR. EDWARDS:
Yeah, I agree
I would not.
All right.
You wouldn't
award mental anguish damages?
10
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
No.
11
MR. EDWARDS:
And No. 48,
All right.
12
Ms. Moulzolf, do you agree that you -- did I hear you
13
correctly that you will not award mental anguish
14
damages?
15
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 48:
16
MR. EDWARDS:
17
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 48:
18
MR. EDWARDS:
19
I couldn't.
You couldn't?
Huh-uh.
Is that right?
I'm sorry,
the court reporter --
20
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 48:
21
MR. EDWARDS:
Okay.
Yes, yes.
I'm sorry.
I hate to
22
be particular, but the record needs to be real clean on
23
this.
24
award mental anguish damages?
25
You're saying yes, I agree with you, I will not
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 48:
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Yes.
114
1
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
2
see, Mr. Payne, No. 72.
3
you won't award mental anguish damages?
Let's
Did I understand correctly that
4
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 72:
5
MR. EDWARDS:
6
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
7
MR. EDWARDS:
8
Thank you.
That is correct.
And No. 78, Mr. Stancher.
That's correct.
No mental anguish damages
from you; is that correct?
9
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
10
MR. EDWARDS:
That's correct.
And No. 79, Ms. Shea.
No,
11
you wouldn't award mental anguish damages regardless of
12
the evidence?
13
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 79:
14
question.
15
costs or therapy?
16
17
18
I do have a
Would mental anguish be covered under medical
MR. EDWARDS:
No, this is a completely
separate -- completely separate item from -PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 79:
Any
19
psychological needs that they have would be covered
20
under medical.
21
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
So you would --
22
you could award money for the medical, but not for pain
23
and suffering or mental anguish?
24
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 79:
25
MR. EDWARDS:
Great.
Correct.
Thank you.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
115
1
All right.
So this case does involve a
2
wreck between a motorcycle and a truck.
3
nice long spiel to go through with you on motorcycles,
4
so I'm gonna short -- I'm gonna try to short circuit it.
5
How many of you know -- I mean, there were a lot of
6
people here that indicated that they had seen the TV
7
commercials.
How many of you know that I like to ride
8
motorcycles?
A lot of you.
9
And I had a
(A show of hands.)
10
MR. EDWARDS:
Just a show of hands is good.
11
So look, I'm gonna ask you about your
12
feelings against motorcycles and motorcycle riders and
13
things revolving around motorcycles.
14
to, you can simply tell me, you know, bless your heart,
15
but I don't like motorcycles and I don't think -- and I
16
don't like things about motorcycles.
17
my question.
18
And if you need
Okay?
So here's
There are people who just -- when it comes
19
to motorcycles, for some, it's a matter of principle.
20
You know, if you get on a motorcycle, you can expect to
21
be hurt they say.
22
is this way.
23
and say, "If you climb on a motorcycle and you get hurt,
24
you've got no business bringing a lawsuit of this kind."
25
She's told me that.
And my -- my aunt, my mother's sister
If she were here she would push me aside
I know her.
How many of you agree
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
116
1
with my aunt that if you climb on a motorcycle and you
2
get hurt, you've just got no business bringing a lawsuit
3
like this?
Which of you agree?
4
(No audible or visible response.)
5
MR. EDWARDS:
6
Anybody have feelings against motorcycles
Everybody good with that?
7
and things related to motorcycles?
8
against?
9
Any feelings
(No audible or visible response.)
10
MR. EDWARDS:
11
Oh, I see -- No. 51 and 75.
12
No. 51, Mr. Davila.
Everybody good with that?
So let me start with
13
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 51:
14
MR. EDWARDS:
15
Yes, sir.
Can you share a little bit
about that, feelings against motorcycles?
16
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 51:
Just in the
17
course of driving the streets, older drivers, be that
18
male or female, you know, even with helmets on, and I've
19
seen them actually avoiding an accident because they
20
were -- would have been causing the accident.
21
like they're just reliving their youth.
22
thing I've got against motorcycle drivers.
23
24
25
MR. EDWARDS:
It seems
That's the only
I'm sorry, what was the last
part?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 51:
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
That's the only
117
1
thing I've got against motorcycle drivers.
2
MR. EDWARDS:
Is that sometimes they -- let
3
me ask it this way:
4
you're describing, if the jury -- if the Judge puts you
5
into the jury box, is that experience gonna influence
6
your decision in this case when there are two people
7
here who got hurt on a motorcycle?
8
9
10
Whatever experience you've had that
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 51:
Not knowing if
they were on the receiving end or if they were on the
giving end, I'd say -- I'd be fair.
11
MR. EDWARDS:
Okay.
12
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 51:
But knowing that
13
I was also involved in a motorcycle car accident and the
14
motorcyclist left his lane and plowed into my new car
15
after three weeks old and messed up my car.
16
know, kind had, my usual thing that motorcycle drivers
17
you know, reliving their youth.
18
MR. EDWARDS:
Sure.
And I, you
And here's the thing.
19
The law allows that motorcycle drivers have the same
20
legal rights as any other driver on the highway or the
21
roadway.
22
on the motorcycle equally?
Do you have any qualms about treating somebody
23
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 51:
24
MR. EDWARDS:
25
All right.
you for that.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
No.
Mr. Davila, thank
118
1
I thought I saw another card back here.
2
Number 75, Mr. Mendoza, what -- tell me a little bit
3
about your feelings against motorcycles.
4
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 75:
Again, being in
5
the fire department, and just driving, you know, besides
6
other cars, that it's just too easy for them to go
7
through traffic when traffic is just at a stop or
8
whatever and then end up getting hurt or something and
9
then it's the other person's fault.
10
MR. EDWARDS:
Yeah.
11
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 75:
12
MR. EDWARDS:
Yeah, you bring up a point.
13
If I may interrupt real quick.
14
that's important.
15
here?
16
number?
You bring up a point
Do we have any sport bike riders
Anybody that rides a sport bike?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 19:
My boyfriend has
one and I ride with him.
19
MR. EDWARDS:
20
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 19:
21
What's your
Number 66 and No. 19.
17
18
You know.
You ride with him?
We wear helmets
and yeah.
22
MR. EDWARDS:
All that good stuff.
23
right.
24
experience, you just got some feelings about
25
motorcycles.
All
So Mr. Mendoza, it sounds like based on your
You know, here's the bottom line question
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
119
1
that only you can -- you can honestly look into your
2
heart and you know, if you need to bless anybody else's
3
heart in here, if you're afraid you're gonna hurt your
4
feelings, you can.
5
these prior experiences with motorcycles gonna impact
6
your decision in this case?
7
If you're put in the jury box are
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 75:
It depends on
8
their experience.
A lot people are out there and, you
9
know, oh, I'm a safe motorcycle driver and whatever, and
10
you see them, you know.
11
handle like the sports bikes do, they're trying do the
12
same thing, it's just like what's the record?
13
what's their -- how are their habits, you know -- you
14
know.
15
I mean, I've been through decapitations, you know, pick
16
up people like that.
17
a little while I -- I even wanted a motorcycle and then
18
I've seen so much stuff like, I said, there's no way.
19
No way I'd ever get on one of those, not on a public
20
road.
21
The big motorcycles that don't
What's --
You know, small equipment to protect, you know.
It's just like, wow.
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
I mean, for
So I still need
22
to continue to ask.
If you're put in the jury box, it's
23
sounding like, if you're put in the jury box, these
24
experiences of yours and these opinions that you're
25
expressing are gonna go into that jury box with you and
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
120
1
influence your decision.
2
3
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 75:
Definitely.
MR. EDWARDS:
Okay.
Definitely.
4
Definitely.
Was there
5
anybody else who held up their card that they had some
6
feelings against motorcycles or things about
7
motorcycles?
8
9
10
Number 27.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 27:
be fair and say that my husband was killed in a
motorcycle accident --
11
MR. EDWARDS:
12
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 27:
13
change my ways.
14
motorcycle riding, I go.
15
16
I'm sorry to hear that.
But that doesn't
I still, if people want to go
MR. EDWARDS:
Okay.
Well, I'm sorry to
hear that.
17
18
I'd just like to
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 27:
I don't have
anything against motorcycles.
19
MR. EDWARDS:
Now, there is no allegation
20
of responsibility against Theresa Gamez.
She was a
21
passenger on the motorcycle and nobody is saying that
22
she is at fault or responsible for this wreck in any
23
way.
24
that when the jury goes back to deliberate this case,
25
that everybody is okay with awarding Theresa Gamez's
And I need to make sure that in light of that,
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
121
1
full damages based on the evidence without saying, you
2
know, she climbed on that motorcycle, she's got some
3
responsibility here.
4
across to you here?
5
allegations against her and there's not gonna be any
6
contest out here in the courtroom in front of the jury
7
about whether she was or wasn't at fault.
8
matter of this case that she's not at fault and not
9
responsible for the wreck.
Is that question -- am I getting
You know, it just -- with no
It's simply a
And is everybody good going
10
back to the jury room to deliberate, if you're on the
11
jury, with the understanding that Theresa Gamez is to be
12
treated as somebody without fault and without
13
responsibility, and it shouldn't influence the decision
14
on damages?
15
(No audible or visible response.)
16
MR. EDWARDS:
17
Everybody good with that?
Number 54.
18
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
I would separate
19
the term "fault" with responsibility.
She has no fault
20
in the accident.
21
she got hit -- well, I shouldn't say that.
22
know.
23
got a responsibility when you choose to get on these.
24
Some people don't take responsibility when you're on
25
there.
As far as what I've heard from her,
I don't
But fault is one thing, but responsibility, you
But yeah, there's a separation of fault and
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
122
1
responsibility.
2
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
Now, if you're on
3
the jury, do you think that you would consider whether
4
or not Ms. Gamez has responsibility for the fact that
5
she got onto the motorcycle?
6
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
A small
7
fraction.
8
because she's not in control of the bike.
9
passenger.
10
Like I said, not at fault of the accident
She was a
There's responsibility for her to say -- as
far as deciding to get on in the first place.
11
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
And you would --
12
you would carry that into the jury deliberations with
13
you?
14
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
15
MR. EDWARDS:
16
All right.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
18
MR. EDWARDS:
19
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
20
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 75:
21
MR. EDWARDS:
22
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 75:
23
MR. EDWARDS:
25
And Mr. Hinojosa
I saw you shaking your head.
17
24
Yeah.
Yes.
Do you agree?
Yes.
I also agree.
Number 75, you also agree?
Yes.
Yes.
Oh, and No. 16,
Mr. Miller.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Absolutely.
123
1
MR. EDWARDS:
2
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
3
same responsibility if you climb into a vehicle with
4
four wheels and the person behind the wheel is drinking.
5
You should be just as responsible for allowing that to
6
happen as you did.
7
happened here.
8
wheels.
9
bikes down and you know you're not nearly as safe on two
10
Same thing?
You have the
I'm not suggesting that's what
But everybody knows you're on two
Those of us who have ridden bikes have had
as you are on four.
11
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
12
Yes, No. 34.
13
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 34:
Yes, sir.
I
14
think I would have to agree with this gentleman, with
15
Mr. Miller also.
16
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
And you're
17
agreeing that you would hold Theresa Gamez responsible
18
for getting onto the motorcycle and that would go back
19
and be part of your jury deliberations?
20
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 34:
I would have to
21
listen to all of it, but I agree that it was some kind
22
of responsibility on her part too, to get on it.
23
would be partial.
24
25
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
Thank you.
I
My
next question is, and I know that -- I know we've got
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
124
1
one.
My question is, who here has any kind of a
2
connection to the trucking industry?
3
a close family member that drives trucks, you have
4
somebody that owns or operates a trucking company, that
5
kind of thing.
6
number of hands.
7
gonna go row by row.
You know, you have
And it looks like we're gonna get a
So let me just go row by row.
I'm
8
First row, anybody on the first row?
9
(No audible or visible response.)
10
11
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
12
Anybody on the second row?
13, yes, ma'am.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 13:
13
brother-in-law owns a trucking company.
14
MR. EDWARDS:
15
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 13:
16
MR. EDWARDS:
17
All right.
In Houston.
Anything about that affect
your decision in this case?
18
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 13:
19
MR. EDWARDS:
20
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 15:
21
My ex-
No.
Number 15.
I've been a
truck driver for 27 years.
22
MR. EDWARDS:
You know, I don't mean this
23
to be a mean question.
I hope it's just a simple
24
question.
25
years and Theresa Gamez is in here making a claim
The fact that you're a truck driver for 27
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
125
1
against a trucking company and the truck driver, do you
2
think you're gonna start off with, you know, favoring
3
the truck driver?
4
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 15:
5
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
6
anybody over here on the second row?
7
a -- all right.
No, sir.
Let's see,
No connection with
8
Third row.
Number 30.
9
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 30:
My ex-husband
10
was a truck driver and I have friends that have owned a
11
trucking company in California, but it won't affect my
12
decision.
13
MR. EDWARDS:
14
Fourth row, Mr. Horowitz, what's your
15
connection?
16
17
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 37:
Been in the
trucking and crane business for 40 years, sir.
18
MR. EDWARDS:
19
row?
20
40's?
21
you from this morning.
22
All right.
Good.
Anybody else on that
The next row, I think that's, what is that, the
And Mr. Dodson, No. 47, that -- I was thinking of
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 47:
Yeah, just from
23
the business that my family's in, we have -- we're all
24
mostly agricultural that we haul.
25
MR. EDWARDS:
Yes.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
126
1
2
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 47:
That I've been
doing all my life.
3
MR. EDWARDS:
4
THE COURT:
5
MR. EDWARDS:
6
THE COURT:
7
MR. EDWARDS:
Okay.
Thank you.
Mr. Dodson's number, please?
47.
Thank you.
And Mr. Dodson, does that
8
affect your opinion in this -- your decision in this
9
case?
10
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 47:
It wouldn't -- I
11
don't think it would right or wrong.
I mean, as far as
12
you know, somebody being at fault or not at fault.
13
I do think that it would -- it would weigh on it, I
14
mean, it would -- it would cause some consideration.
15
MR. EDWARDS:
16
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 47:
17
All right.
To sway one way
or another, I believe.
18
MR. EDWARDS:
19
Anybody else in the 40's?
20
(No audible or visible response.)
21
MR. EDWARDS:
22
But
Thank you, Mr. Dodson.
Anybody in the 50's?
Number
53.
23
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 53:
24
brother-in-law who's a truck driver, but it wouldn't
25
affect me at all.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
I have a
127
1
MR. EDWARDS:
2
MR. CHAVES:
3
MR. EDWARDS:
4
All right.
And that was 43?
53.
53.
53, thank you.
And No.
55.
5
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 55:
I have some
6
friends and two or three cousins that are truck drivers,
7
but it wouldn't affect me.
8
9
MR. EDWARDS:
Mr. Moreno.
10
11
All right.
Anybody in the 60's?
67?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 67:
MR. EDWARDS:
13
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 67:
MR. EDWARDS:
I don't know.
It could possibly.
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
You can't -- it
sounds like you can't assure us right now that it won't.
21
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 67:
22
MR. EDWARDS:
23
A truck driver.
And is that gonna impact you
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 67.
19
20
Your father is a --
in this case?
17
18
I have some --
As well as my husband.
15
16
Yes, ma'am.
my father.
12
14
Thank you,
No.
And were you 67; is that
correct?
24
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 67:
25
MR. EDWARDS:
Thank you.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Yes, sir.
And anybody else
128
1
in the 60's?
2
3
Anybody else in the 70's?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 75:
Number 75.
My uncle is a
truck driver.
4
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
5
So let me just ask this one last question
6
and I'm gonna do it the same way we just did that and
7
I'm gonna ask about any experience that you have with
8
riding motorcycles, being a passenger on a motorcycle,
9
that kind of thing.
10
So if we can start with the first row.
11
Anybody have any experience owning a motorcycle, driving
12
a motorcycle, operating a motorcycle, being a passenger,
13
and whenever I call your number, if you'll just briefly
14
tell us what it is.
15
16
17
18
Number 9.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 9:
one till I was younger.
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 9:
20
MR. EDWARDS:
22
23
You rode one
while you were younger.
19
21
I used to ride
Okay.
I owned one, yes.
How long ago was the
last time you rode?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 9:
I joined the
Marine Corps when I was 22.
24
MR. EDWARDS:
Long time ago.
25
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 10:
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Yeah.
129
1
MR. EDWARDS:
2
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 10:
3
All right.
MR. EDWARDS:
5
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 10:
And no more?
MR. EDWARDS:
8
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 10:
MR. EDWARDS:
row.
MR. EDWARDS:
20
21
I've been a
You've been a passenger on
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 14:
Never had a
problem.
MR. EDWARDS:
Frequently or just now and
then?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 14:
Back in the
past, in my 20's probably.
22
MR. EDWARDS:
23
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 14:
24
MR. EDWARDS:
25
Second
motorcycles?
18
19
All right.
passenger.
16
17
Good.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 14:
14
15
It was a Yamaha
Number 14.
12
13
What kind of bike?
V Star Cruiser.
10
11
No, I don't own
one.
7
9
I owned a bike
for about two years.
4
6
Number 10.
While you were in your 20's?
All right.
Probably.
Thank you, ma'am.
Mr. Miller, you've had some experience on motorcycles?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
130
1
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
2
down in Colorado in 1974.
3
bike.
4
5
The last time I ever got on a
MR. EDWARDS:
sir.
I laid a bike
All right.
1974.
Thank you,
Number 19 -- No. 18.
6
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 18:
Well, I grew up
7
in a family where we always had motorcycles.
8
a big Harley driver.
9
whole life.
My dad is
So I've been around motorcycles my
10
MR. EDWARDS:
Okay.
Thank you, ma'am.
11
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 19:
I do have my
12
motorcycle license and that's where we would -- well, my
13
fiance, who lives with me, has a sports bike.
14
own a small 250 Verago.
15
rather be a passenger, but I still kept my license just
16
in case.
I don't ride anymore, I'd
I have two of them.
17
MR. EDWARDS:
18
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 19:
19
Good.
MR. EDWARDS:
Thank you.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 19:
23
MR. EDWARDS:
25
And that was No.
19?
22
24
Ride the bike
home or something, but yeah.
20
21
I used to
Yeah.
How about in the 20's?
sorry.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 30:
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
30.
I'm
131
1
2
MR. EDWARDS:
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 30:
MR. EDWARDS:
6
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 30:
Last 12 years you and your --
MR. EDWARDS:
9
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 30:
Yes.
MR. EDWARDS:
12
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 30:
Okay.
MR. EDWARDS:
15
Anybody else in the 30s?
16
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 27:
Good.
Thank you.
No. -- No. 27.
I'm a passenger
of a motorcycle.
18
19
And we ride all
the time.
14
17
We have a
Harley.
11
13
My fiance in
California.
8
10
For the last 12
years, we've had a Harley.
5
7
Yes, ma'am, No.
30.
3
4
In the 30's.
MR. EDWARDS:
Number 27, passenger on a
motorcycle.
20
Number 39.
21
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 39:
22
been riding motorcycles for 50 years and I'm usually
23
just a passenger.
24
25
MR. EDWARDS:
My husband's
You have been on his bike as
a passenger?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
132
1
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 39:
2
MR. EDWARDS:
3
Okay.
Uh-huh.
Mr. Horowitz, I think
we already --
4
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 37:
5
one actually back in about '76.
6
years ago.
7
MR. EDWARDS:
Sold it a couple of
All right.
8
across this side on that aisle.
9
20's and 30's.
Anybody here?
Yeah, I owned
So let me come
I think we may have
20's and 30's?
10
(No audible or visible response.)
11
MR. EDWARDS:
12
the 40's on that row?
13
14
MR. EDWARDS:
who else here?
All right.
Thank you.
And
42.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 42:
Took one for a
test drive down the street.
19
MR. EDWARDS:
20
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 42:
21
I've been a
passenger very seldom on my husband's motorcycle.
17
18
41.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 41:
15
16
How about on the 40's -- in
You did a test drive?
Yeah, I did a
test drive.
22
MR. EDWARDS:
And you didn't buy it?
23
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 42:
24
MR. EDWARDS:
25
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 45:
Okay.
No.
Number 45.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Just a
133
1
passenger.
2
3
MR. EDWARDS:
A passenger.
Number 46.
4
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 46:
5
MR. EDWARDS:
6
A passenger.
Anybody in the 50's?
8
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 47:
10
MR. EDWARDS:
50's?
Good.
One time
passenger for 15 minutes.
MR. EDWARDS:
Okay.
That was it?
That was
it.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 51:
18
MR. EDWARDS:
19
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 52:
That was it.
Number 52.
A street bike,
40 years ago, trail bike 30 years ago.
21
MR. EDWARDS:
22
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 53:
23
In the
51.
17
20
I was raised on
Thank you.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 51:
15
16
Oh, No. 47.
probably 20 years.
13
14
Thank you,
them as a kid and I've been riding a cruiser for
11
12
Passenger.
ma'am.
7
9
Thank you.
Great.
Thank you.
53.
It was about 15
years, when I was younger, and then moved to a car.
24
MR. EDWARDS:
Good.
Number 54.
25
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
I currently
134
1
ride.
2
MR. EDWARDS:
3
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
4
I'm sorry?
I currently
ride.
5
MR. EDWARDS:
Currently ride.
6
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
7
MR. EDWARDS:
8
Anybody else in the 50's?
9
(No audible or visible response.)
MR. EDWARDS:
11
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 62:
12
MR. EDWARDS:
13
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 65:
60's?
Number 62.
MR. EDWARDS:
Just a trike.
Just a
Been a passenger.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 66:
18
a daily driver for about three years.
19
hobby.
20
MR. EDWARDS:
66, you
Good.
Yes, sir.
I was
Now it's just a
Any experience on
cruisers?
22
23
65?
indicated you have a sport bike currently?
17
21
I have a trike.
passenger.
15
16
Yes.
Good.
10
14
Good.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 66:
Cruiser, very
minimal.
24
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
25
Anybody else in the 60's.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Thank you, sir.
135
1
(No audible or visible response.)
2
MR. EDWARDS:
3
the 70's?
4
Anybody on the last row in
75.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 75:
I had a motor
5
bike as a teen and rode a little bit in my 20's and then
6
passed it on in my 20's and I didn't ride.
7
MR. EDWARDS:
8
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 77:
9
MR. EDWARDS:
Thank you.
12
13
Number 78.
MR. EDWARDS:
Twenty years on a Harley.
79.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 79:
17
passenger.
18
husband sold his last year.
19
23
Been a rider or
And my sons currently ride Harleys and my
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
So passenger and
operator and family members who do so.
21
22
Twenty years on
a Harley.
16
20
Passenger as a
Passenger as a teenager.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
14
15
Number 77.
teenager.
10
11
Very good.
All right.
folks.
My clock says I'm out of time,
Thank you very much.
MR. BLANCO:
It has been a pleasure.
The bad news is I now have 30
24
minutes, so bear with me.
I will go fast.
25
is because while you were all listening to him, we were
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Part of this
136
1
listening to you and I -- I -- I kind of feel that I
2
know you a little bit, especially those who have spoken
3
quite a bit.
4
haven't spoken, that way we -- the four of us, we have a
5
job to do.
6
So I'd like to talk to you, the ones that
And the first thing I want to say is, I'm
7
thankful that there's somebody else from California
8
here, because I -- I think you heard my name is
9
Alejandro Blanco and I came all the way from California
10
to help Mike Garcia.
11
but he likes to be called Mike, so I'll call him Mike
12
during the trial.
13
His name is Miguel Garcia, Sr.,
When Mr. Smith called me and he said, I
14
need your help, I need your help with Mike Garcia.
15
I said, tell me a little about what happened.
16
starts, "well, he's riding his bike, a motorcycle," I
17
immediately clicked off and I said, oh, no, not a
18
motorcycle rider.
19
Harleys.
And he
I'm sorry, I know that you like
20
MR. CHAVES:
21
UNIDENTIFIED PROSPECTIVE JUROR:
22
And
They can't hear you.
We can't
hear you.
23
MR. BLANCO:
How about now?
24
UNIDENTIFIED PROSPECTIVE JUROR:
25
MR. BLANCO:
Great.
Yeah.
Sorry about that.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
137
1
And I share the same problem that you were
2
talking to us, ma'am.
3
enhancement, as I call them.
4
I have bilateral, you know,
Because in my mind, you know, it's
5
motorcycle riders are just a pain, that's how I am.
So
6
the ones that haven't spoken yet, I know Mr. Miller,
7
you've told us a little bit, and I know Mr. Horowitz you
8
told us also quite a bit.
9
to us yet, anybody feel like me, that motorcycle riders
The ones that haven't spoken
10
are just a pain on the roadways?
11
Anybody else?
Number 32.
Number 6.
12
(No audible or visible response.)
13
MR. WARREN:
I'm sorry, what numbers were
15
MR. BLANCO:
I read 32 and No. 6.
16
MR. CHAVES:
Number 6.
17
MR. WARREN:
Thank you.
18
MR. BLANCO:
I also have the list.
14
19
those?
Mr. Amador.
20
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 32:
21
MR. BLANCO:
Yes, sir.
Tell me about -- I mean, I can
22
go on and on, but I only have 30 minutes.
23
you to -- I need your help to shrink it down to see
24
whether we can get this done.
25
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 32:
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
So I'd like
In this area,
138
1
most of the majority of motorcycle riders are dangerous.
2
They don't obey traffic laws.
3
up their own laws.
4
traffic laws.
5
the majority are unsafe drivers.
6
It seems like they make
And there are some who do obey the
But my experience here in Corpus Christi,
MR. BLANCO:
Okay.
Well, I haven't been
7
driving a long -- long enough to verify what you're
8
saying to me.
9
have strong opinions.
You know we're looking for folks that
I mean, I like 12 leaders in my
10
group, on my jury, because I want to make sure that we
11
do the right decision.
12
I mean, I -- after I heard the facts and I know the
13
facts would be working -- you know, I asked for quite a
14
while, I decided to take Mike's case and I decided to
15
present it to y'all.
16
have decided to present it to you, for you to make the
17
right decision.
18
my jury, I will show you the good, the bad, and the
19
ugly.
20
right decision.
21
have now lived and experienced, you know, these riders
22
that perhaps are not like Mr. Garcia, that they do
23
whatever they want to do, has that tainted, has that
24
filtered your mind in such a way that you will have to
25
say, Mr. Blanco, you can give me all the evidence you
And here's my question to you.
I'm getting that part, y'all.
I
And you know, Mr. Amador, if you're on
Because we, as a community, need to make the
Here's my question.
The fact that you
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
139
1
want, I just -- I won't find for you because, you know,
2
those riders are nuts.
3
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 32:
4
that statement, I wouldn't judge somebody like that.
5
will say, generally whatever, a motorcycle rider knows
6
if anybody gets on the jury has responsibility to hear
7
the full facts.
8
9
MR. BLANCO:
All right.
only one that can tell us, you know.
Yes or no, right?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 32:
11
MR. BLANCO:
12
Sada, Mr. Sada.
13
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 6:
14
MR. BLANCO:
15
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 6:
16
MR. BLANCO:
17
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 6:
Right.
Good.
Yes, sir.
Tell us about you.
I agree with --
With Mr. Amador?
Yes, sir.
I
18
agree with him.
19
of them do take advantage of how small the vehicle is.
20
Especially when it comes to other vehicles that are
21
modified, you get a lot of attention.
22
I
And you're the
10
Okay.
For me I made
I have nothing against them, but some
MR. BLANCO:
All right.
Well, let's say
23
you're back in the jury room and you say, well, you
24
know, Mr. Blanco delivered, you know, his word.
25
us the evidence, you know.
He gave
He showed us he's on the
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
140
1
right.
He showed us that his clients should win, but
2
you know, those motorcycles riders, they're just nuts.
3
I can't do it.
4
5
You're not that way?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 6:
No, I have
nothing against them.
6
MR. BLANCO:
Okay.
Good.
Now, Mr. Amador
7
and Mr. Sada, I would like you to be on my jury.
8
you like to be on my jury?
9
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 6:
10
11
MR. BLANCO:
Yes, sir.
Sir, would you like to be on
my jury?
12
13
Would
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 32:
It's a long
trial, you know.
14
MR. BLANCO:
All right.
All right.
15
I'd like to talk about two words briefly
16
because I think that'll set us up really quick for a
17
number of questions that I have, because I have to ask
18
the hard questions.
19
those three miles an hour kind of deals.
20
serious case.
21
actually, there was Juror No. 2, one time, in a trial
22
that told me about these words after the trial.
23
used them since.
24
No. 2, but he was kind of sitting right there where he
25
was and he says, you know, Mr. Blanco, there is a
This is not -- this is not one of
This is a very
So I'd like to talk about two words, and
So I've
I've asked for permission to use Juror
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
141
1
responsibility.
And responsibility is when -- when we
2
do something that is wrong, but we immediately act to
3
fix it.
4
do things to make up for it.
5
says, is that it comes from within.
6
us something.
7
he says, there's accountability.
8
they do something wrong to one of us.
9
acting, they refuse to act.
And when we can't fix it, we do some things, we
But the important part, he
Nobody has to tell
And that's a good thing.
But over here,
It's when somebody,
But instead of
They say, what are you
10
gonna do, sue me?
So here's my question.
11
to pick two or three of you and then get in.
12
or Pesek?
13
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 24:
14
MR. BLANCO:
Pesek.
And I'd like
Mr. Pesek
Pesek.
Sir, is it all right
15
with you that we, as citizens in the community, have to
16
use the tools of the law to hold somebody accountable
17
when they refuse to be responsible?
18
with you, sir?
Is it all right
19
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 24:
20
MR. BLANCO:
21
22
Yes.
But why do we need another
lawsuit?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 24:
If it's -- it's
23
not that we need another lawsuit, it's just defending
24
the laws, holding people responsible for the law.
25
MR. BLANCO:
Right.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
142
1
Mr. Palacios, how about you, sir?
Is it
2
all right with you that I have to use the tools of the
3
law to hold somebody accountable when they refuse to be
4
responsible?
5
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 22:
6
MR. BLANCO:
Sure.
And again, is it all right,
7
you know, can you see of an alternative that using the
8
law to holding people accountable?
9
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 22:
No, I think, you
10
know, people should be accountable even if they're
11
companies or whatever, individuals, or if they're
12
responsible for something then they ought to be held
13
accountable.
14
It's fair.
MR. BLANCO:
Right.
Is there anybody here
15
that feels that it's not all right to use the tools of
16
the law to hold somebody accountable when they refuse to
17
be responsible?
Anybody here?
18
(No audible or visible response.)
19
MR. BLANCO:
Good.
The evidence in this
20
case is gonna involve a lot of technical stuff.
21
I won't talk specifically about the evidence, but I can
22
tell you that there will be engineers.
23
truck experts.
24
what we're dealing with is brain injury and damage.
25
We're dealing with orthopedic damages, local doctors,
There will be
There will be medical doctors.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Again,
Because
143
1
you know, people here that are going to be presenting
2
all of the evidence.
3
I don't know if you've noticed, but Mr. Garcia, he's
4
lost a leg and as part of his damages also lost a
5
finger.
6
that there is two parts to this crash.
7
expression, it takes two to tango, right?
8
part of our decision is going to be determine how much
9
responsibility goes on to Kenneth Jennings and Dillon
10
Transport for this crash, and how much responsibility
11
goes to Mr. Garcia for this crash.
12
I'm here is because jointly, Mr. Jennings and Dillon
13
Transport are saying that Mr. Garcia is 100 percent, all
14
of it is on him.
15
said, you know what, no.
16
Anybody here have training, experience, in dealing with
17
the science of traffic collision reconstruction, you
18
know, physics, that type of thing?
Not just opinions, but treatment.
It is likely that the evidence is going to show
You know, the
And so the --
One of the reasons
That's part of the decision.
And I
So here's my question.
Yes.
19
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 66:
20
training on like traffic collisions or anything like
21
that.
22
23
No formal
But a greater opinion of physics.
MR. BLANCO:
Let me make sure that the
record is clear.
24
THE COURT:
25
MR. BLANCO:
Number, please.
Mr. Feamster, No. 66.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
144
1
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 66:
2
MR. BLANCO:
3
Yes, sir.
So for example, if I say, feet
per second, you will understand that?
4
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 66:
5
MR. BLANCO:
That's velocity.
If I say that if you're going
6
10 miles an hour, you're actually moving one and a half
7
foot per second, in one second you will have come -- I'm
8
sorry, 15, in one second you will have covered 15 feet,
9
that is normal to you, right?
10
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 66:
11
MR. BLANCO:
All right.
Yes, sir.
Anybody else will
12
understand what we're saying, if you know?
13
Mr. Winters, what's your experience in that?
14
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 62:
Yes, No. 62.
Just through
15
college courses in physics, you know, simple terms like
16
that, we understand.
17
MR. BLANCO:
Okay.
There will be quite a
18
bit of information regarding reverse engineering to
19
determine an area of impact and so forth.
20
and I'm sorry, Mr. Gerloff, 73, you also raised yours?
21
What's your experience, Mr. Gerloff?
22
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 73:
23
MR. BLANCO:
24
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 73:
25
So here --
I was --
I'm sorry, what?
-- I was trained
on -- you know, in that type of physics --
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
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1
2
THE REPORTER:
saying.
3
4
MR. BLANCO:
I'm sorry.
5
6
7
I can't hear what he's
I cannot -- I cannot hear you.
I'm gonna crank up my hearing aid.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 73:
physics.
I do some
I can understand what you're saying about it.
MR. BLANCO:
All right.
If I say -- if I
8
say, coefficient of friction and all of those phrases,
9
do you understand that or is that?
10
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 73:
11
MR. BLANCO:
12
13
14
15
Okay.
No, I don't.
All right.
Well here's
my question to those of you -- yes, Mr. -- 65, Flores.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 65:
Yeah, through
college, I'm familiar with that physics.
MR. BLANCO:
Okay.
Well, I won't promise
16
you a CSI type of trial.
I'm sorry.
We don't have
17
those facilities and most of it is -- most of it is --
18
but I will promise you reputable, you know, respectable
19
expert testimony.
20
that have raised their hands in this specialized
21
knowledge, can you put those knowledge, that knowledge
22
on hold and listen to the testimony of the witnesses on
23
the stand using your common sense, not your specialized
24
knowledge, and decide, based upon the testimony, and
25
what the Judge's instructions gives you, instead of your
Here's my question.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Can you, those
146
1
own personal knowledge?
Can you do that, Mr. Feamster?
2
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 66:
3
MR. BLANCO:
4
I'm not -- I'm not asking you
to just leave your common sense completely aside.
5
6
Yes, sir.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 66:
Yes, I can be
impartial.
7
MR. BLANCO:
But you know what happens is
8
somebody's gonna stay, hey, you know a lot about
9
motorcycles, what do you think?
Where we have expert
10
testimony that is contrary.
11
your own decisions based upon your common sense and your
12
particular knowledge.
13
expert in the jury room.
14
In that sense, you can make
What you can't do is become an
Does that make sense to you?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 66:
So if somebody
15
doesn't understand what a particular witness was
16
stating, I'm not able to break it down into like
17
layman's terms?
18
MR. BLANCO:
19
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 66:
20
Correct.
I'd be able to
do that.
21
MR. BLANCO:
You can say, well, the way I
22
understood it is A, B, and C, but that's about it.
23
I'm sure that his honor is gonna have very strong
24
cautionary language to you.
25
treatment.
Same thing with medical
Anybody here works at Christus Spohn?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
And
147
1
Right.
I mean, there's going to be, guess where these
2
fellows were flied into a couple of years ago.
3
There's going to be medical knowledge that you have.
4
Same questions.
5
to get anxious because I have 15 minutes left and I
6
haven't gotten very far.
7
good job.
8
will you give me assurances that you will not teach or
9
educate our jurors, you will use that as part of your
So, let me make sure -- I'm beginning
So let me make sure I do a
To those of you with knowledge of physics,
10
common sense knowledge?
11
Great.
12
Okay.
Yes?
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Okay.
Please raise your hands if you have medical
13
knowledge.
No. 32, 65, No. 75, 66, 19, 10, 21.
14
I will not spend time, but can we agree that if you're
15
selected on this jury you will not utilize that
16
information to educate other jurors about what the
17
medical terminology is, or what it means?
18
this?
19
(A show of hands.)
20
MR. BLANCO:
21
22
Yes?
Yes.
Again,
And can we do
Okay.
Mr. -- yes,
Mr. Amador.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 32:
Part of my
23
profession is to teach medical.
I don't know if -- if
24
I'm selected to the jury and one of my jurors want an
25
explanation, what does this mean, I feel compelled by my
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
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1
profession to explain it to them.
2
and I feel if someone doesn't understand what certain
3
terminology means, I can answer it.
4
it's part of my duty to do so.
5
THE COURT:
It's part of my job,
I feel like that
In deliberations, you-all may
6
discuss among yourselves everything that you heard or
7
saw in the courtroom.
8
medical term has been brought out of a witness on the
9
witness stand, you may deliberate and discuss that in
So if that definition of a
10
the jury room.
The problem is, is when you have
11
specialized knowledge, you've not been called as an
12
expert, you haven't been subject to direct examination
13
and cross-examination to test the veracity of what
14
you're saying or the validity of what opinions you're
15
giving, all right?
16
room.
17
in that courtroom from the witness stand and give weight
18
and value to it.
19
process.
20
you know, I had a case and this is what we did here
21
because that's not evidence that was brought in the
22
courtroom subject to cross-examination.
23
add, based upon your education or experience, in
24
addition to what was brought out in the courtroom.
25
right?
So it is a fine line in that jury
You may discuss anything that you heard and saw
That's part of the deliberation
But you can't, in your own right say, well,
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
You may not
All
149
1
I will give you three more minutes.
2
MR. BLANCO:
We have a fair judge.
3
MR. CHAVES:
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
4
MR. BLANCO:
And an unfair Defendant.
5
And I appreciate that very much.
See, my
6
next question, my next job -- I will tell you, it is my
7
job to bring out all the information.
8
about axonal shearing and diffuse of some injury, We're
9
talking about brain injury and how the ions go into the
If we're talking
10
cells, that's my job.
11
make sure that we present to you all of the evidence,
12
and part of the problem that we have, Mr. Amador, is
13
choosing what not to bring because there's so much of
14
it.
15
question is, the job, as the Court indicated, if it
16
hasn't been defined, it's been chosen not to be
17
presented to you, would you resist the urge to use
18
personal knowledge in order to educate the jury?
19
Because it's not something that is in the universe of
20
the facts for you to decide.
Okay.
21
I mean, I gotta do my job and
That's our job.
But that's my job.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 32:
The
That's a hard
22
question to answer because I've never been put in that
23
position, so I don't know.
24
answer that.
25
MR. BLANCO:
At this time, I couldn't
Given that you have a vocation
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
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1
to teach, if that's what you do, do you think that that
2
is a moral imperative, something that you will have to
3
do, even if told not to, because that is part of your --
4
what you do?
5
6
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 32:
If the Judge has
instructed, I would follow her instructions.
7
MR. BLANCO:
All right.
That's what we
8
need to know.
9
can have a bleeding lip, but you're gonna have to bite
10
your tongue.
11
12
If the Judge says, no, part of it is you
Is that all right?
Is that cool with you?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 32:
(Nodding head up
and down.)
13
MR. BLANCO:
14
All right.
All right.
So I'd like to talk about two
15
more things, five minutes each.
16
when we decide what is the fair distribution of, you
17
know, responsibility for the occurrence of the crash,
18
you know, in our lingo is, who's at fault?
19
we cannot diminish, we cannot take out the -- or reduce
20
the amounts of the damages.
21
job is to represent Mr. Garcia for these damages that he
22
has.
23
sorry, if I find that there is a contribution or
24
comparative negligence, whether it's 75/25 or 60/40, I
25
am going to do that reduction myself.
All right.
The first one is, even
The law says
Part of it is -- part of my
So some folks said, you know, I'm
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Okay.
I think
151
1
you'll hear a very strong directive from the Court that
2
at the end, that is going to be done, but we need to
3
have 100 percent, no deduction of the damages.
4
that make sense to you so far?
5
of questions.
Does
Because I have a couple
Does anybody have any questions?
6
(No audible or visible response.)
7
MR. BLANCO:
Okay.
So let's say as a
8
hypothetical that the damage, the actual number is $100.
9
Okay?
And that you find that Mr. Garcia was 25 percent
10
at fault in this particular case.
11
so far?
All right.
With me
Can you say, yes?
12
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 18:
Number 18.
I'm
13
confused.
You're talking about Mr. Garcia and you're
14
talking about Ms. Gomez (sic) and it's like, are these
15
two in one?
16
MR. CHAVES:
17
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 18:
18
MR. WARREN:
There are two plaintiffs
against the defendants.
21
THE COURT:
22
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 18:
23
All right.
Let me take it.
Okay.
That's
the first, I gathered that.
24
25
Can you say
that?
19
20
There's two.
THE COURT:
Okay.
Mr. Edwards represents
Ms. Gamez.
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1
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 18:
2
THE COURT:
3
Okay.
Mr. Blanco represents
Mr. Garcia.
4
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 18:
5
THE COURT:
Okay.
Just like on the defense side,
6
Mr. Warren, over there, represents Dillon Transport, and
7
Mr. Chaves represents Mr. Jennings.
8
parties involved have their own attorneys.
9
10
So that each of the
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 18:
THE COURT:
Okay.
And they will be presenting for
11
their particular clients and will be cross-examining
12
witnesses on behalf of their clients as well.
13
MR. BLANCO:
14
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 18:
15
THE COURT:
16
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 18:
17
MR. BLANCO:
18
19
Does that explain that?
Yes, Absolutely.
One more minute.
Sorry.
I'll take 45 seconds,
Your Honor, no.
So, Mr. Garcia was riding the motorcycle.
20
Ms. Gamez was a passenger.
21
a percentage is because -- well, part of it isn't the
22
injury, but part of it also is he's being accused of
23
being 100 percent at fault.
24
25
Okay?
And the reason I have
UNIDENTIFIED PROSPECTIVE JUROR:
speak up, please.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Can you
153
1
MR. BLANCO:
Yes.
Sorry.
Part of wearing
2
hearing aids is that you have to raise them so that I
3
can hear you, and then I feel like I'm screaming, and
4
I'm being rude to you, so I apologize.
5
6
So anyways, yes, Mr. Garcia is the
motorcycle rider.
7
Okay.
So I believe at the end, we're going to
8
find that this happened as a contribution, okay?
9
how I believe what the evidence will establish.
Here's the question.
That's
I may
10
be wrong.
Because he also has
11
damages -- and let's say that the damages are $100 and
12
let's say that 12 of you decide that he is 25 percent at
13
fault.
14
$100, that has to be your verdict.
15
comparative fault.
The requirement of the law is, you establish the
No reduction for the
Does that make sense so far?
16
(No audible or visible response.)
17
MR. BLANCO:
18
with that?
19
reductions.
20
21
Okay.
Who here has a problem
Who says, no, I'll have to do the
Okay.
THE REPORTER:
Can you call out the numbers
for the record, please?
22
MR. CHAVES:
Number 4.
23
MR. BLANCO:
I will read them.
So,
24
Mr. Hinojosa, No. 4, you would have to do the reductions
25
on your own?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
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1
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
2
MR. BLANCO:
3
Before you render your
verdict, right?
4
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
5
MR. BLANCO:
6
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 51:
7
MR. BLANCO:
8
Okay.
51, Mr. Davila.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 51:
MR. BLANCO:
11
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 34:
12
MR. BLANCO:
Okay.
reduction before you render your verdict?
15
MR. BLANCO:
23
Well, "I think" is kind of a
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 34:
Well, yes, sir.
I would.
19
22
I think I would.
tentative.
17
21
Yes, sir.
You would also have to do the
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 34:
20
Yes.
Number 34, Mr. Lucio.
14
18
Yes, sir.
You would also have to do the
10
16
Yes.
reduction before you render your verdict?
9
13
Yes.
MR. BLANCO:
You would.
Okay.
All right.
Anybody else?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
I have a
question and she may have to give you more time.
I don't believe any of us have heard, is
24
there a trial that was prior to this that designated the
25
guilt of one party over the other?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
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1
2
MR. BLANCO:
No, sir.
You're going to do
it.
3
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
4
THE COURT:
Okay.
Maybe I can cut to the chase on
5
this.
There will be an instruction from this Court that
6
when you answer what we call, the liability issues, you
7
will answer those separately, okay?
8
done that, you are going to answer the damage questions,
9
that is, how much lost wages in the past, how much lost
And after you have
10
wages in the future, and there will be a very clear
11
instruction from me that you are not to reduce the
12
damages in any way from any comparative percentages that
13
you have previously awarded in prior questions, okay?
14
Jury doesn't do that.
15
and/or the comparison of the liability or the
16
percentages of fault.
17
they're asked to do the dollar figures with regards to
18
damages, and they're instructed not to reduce the
19
damages by percentages of fault.
They determine the liability
Another way of putting it.
20
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
21
THE COURT:
22
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
23
Okay.
One more minute.
My answer would
be, I can't.
24
25
Then
MR. BLANCO:
I'm sorry, your answer would
be?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
156
1
2
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
I would reduce
it, so I couldn't.
3
MR. BLANCO:
You would?
4
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
5
MR. BLANCO:
Okay.
Yes.
All right.
I want you
6
to all think -- imagine a hypothetical person and the
7
reason I'm gonna do this is, you know, we've been
8
talking about this case for almost two and half hours in
9
generalities, which is really difficult.
When I first,
10
you know, started doing this, 30 years ago, I'd always
11
get into the facts and would be thundered from the judge
12
because to me, it's like, without facts, how do you talk
13
about it?
14
But this is a civil case, you know.
15
Mr. Edwards is prosecuting a civil case against Dillon
16
Transport, against Kenneth Jennings, and against Miguel
17
Garcia.
18
case against -- from Mr. Garcia and against them, and
19
I'm prosecuting, civilly prosecuting, Dillon and Kenneth
20
Jennings for damages.
21
money justice.
22
I understand it's open to abuse and it's open to
23
opportunity from people.
24
questions here and I think -- I think we're gonna end up
25
on a good note.
And I am also prosecuting -- I'm defending that
And justice in a civil system is
There is nothing but money justice.
And
So I have a number of
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
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1
Imagine for a moment that a person -- and
2
please do not think of a relative or a close person,
3
because this is a hypothetical, okay?
4
Imagine for a moment that that person is
5
severely injured and the damages are clear.
They're in
6
the tens of millions of dollars, the numbers are just
7
astronomical, okay?
8
lawyer.
And that I happen to be their
So far with me?
9
Here's a couple of questions.
Should I be
10
fearful and timid that the defense may call me greedy
11
and only ask for a fraction of that number, or should I
12
ask for the appropriate amount?
13
specific questions of -- some specific answers.
14
Mr. Benavidez, what should I -- should I ask for a
15
fraction, just for fear that they're gonna call me
16
greedy, or should I ask for the appropriate amount, sir?
17
18
I need to have some
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 9:
You should ask
for whatever they're responsible for.
19
MR. BLANCO:
I agree.
How about you
20
Ms. Torres, should I ask for a reduced amount or should
21
I ask for the appropriate?
22
23
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 5:
I agree,
appropriate.
24
MR. BLANCO:
For appropriate.
25
Mr. Pesek, you might just have that frown
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
158
1
normally in your face, but I've seen that frown, you
2
know.
3
like, I'm the happiest person alive as I'm frowning all
4
over the place.
And people tell me the same thing and I'm going
5
6
What do you think, sir?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 24:
No, ask for the
fair amount.
7
MR. BLANCO:
Okay.
I was in Denver one
8
time and just said -- you know, Ms. Shea, a fellow who
9
proclaimed to be a tort reformer, he'd tell me, you
10
should ask for four times as much so maybe you'd get
11
what you want.
12
unfair.
13
Will you give me a fair opportunity to show you all of
14
the evidence?
15
nothing hidden from you, like I said a little earlier,
16
the good, the bad, the ugly.
17
fair determination of what the right amount is.
18
you give me an opportunity to do that during the trial?
And I said, you know, that's just
It's just unfair.
So here's my next question.
I mean, give it all in front of you,
So that you can make a
19
(No audible or visible response.)
20
MR. BLANCO:
21
number.
22
number.
25
If you're going to, raise your
If you're not going to, do not raise your
23
24
Will
(A show of hands.)
MR. BLANCO:
fair opportunity?
Are you going to give me a
Ms. 46, you have a hard time in there
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
159
1
raising your number.
2
3
Why is that, ma'am?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 46:
I didn't hear
the end of it and then you repeated it.
4
MR. BLANCO:
Oh, I see.
5
The question is:
Will you give me a fair
6
opportunity to show you all the proper evidence?
I
7
mean, so that you can make a fair determination.
All
8
right?
9
Great.
You can lower it.
I did not see
10
any numbers.
11
trial and they'll be only 12 or 14 of you, depending if
12
we will lose some of you.
13
that you're sitting there and you're looking -- you're
14
looking at the evidence and you -- with all your fellow
15
jurors, you have broken the evidence up, you have sliced
16
it, you have poked at it, you -- you're looking at the
17
eyes of everybody.
18
this trial started, there's no way I thought this was
19
going to be in the tens of millions of dollars, just no
20
way.
21
here's my question.
22
I want you to all come to the end of the
And I want you to imagine
And you're thinking, you know, when
But I'm looking at the evidence now and it is.
So
If you are persuaded by the evidence, and
23
the law allows it, meaning the law says that this is the
24
rule that we follow, do you see -- do each and every one
25
of you see yourselves having the opportunity and the
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
160
1
ability to establish a verdict in those numbers?
2
the evidence has persuaded you and the law allows it.
3
If you are not, if you cannot, just say, you know what,
4
too, too much money, please raise your number.
5
Mr. Horowitz, No. 37, No. 16, did you raise your number,
6
Mr. Hinojosa, No. 4?
7
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
8
MR. BLANCO:
9
(No audible or visible response.)
10
11
MR. BLANCO:
Again,
No.
Anybody else?
All right.
And the last area
that I have for you.
12
You know, we all like to do things when
13
we're not working or we're not under duties, we all like
14
to do things and I call them things we like.
15
read.
16
like to read, you know, and spend time, I like to --
17
what my girls call it, "hang out" with my girls, nothing
18
for me than better than to have a hug from my
19
nine-year-old.
20
what that means.
21
I read a lot already.
I like to
But whenever I'm off, I
I mean, it's just -- dads, you all know
So, let me pick on a couple of you just for
22
a minute and ask you, what are the things that you like
23
to do?
24
25
Mr. Reta, Tomas Reta?
I don't think I've
heard from you, sir.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
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1
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 44:
2
MR. BLANCO:
3
What things do you like to do
for enjoyment, things you enjoy?
4
5
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 44:
Just, you know,
bike riding, bicycle riding, not motorcycle.
6
MR. BLANCO:
7
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 44:
8
Yes, sir.
Right.
And going to the
movies.
9
MR. BLANCO:
Uh-huh.
Something about bike
10
riding, my wife loves bike riding.
11
is just wonderful for the mood, I guess, or the health,
12
yeah.
13
14
Okay.
hunting.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 10:
locally.
21
locally, wade fishing.
24
25
Fishing and hunting.
Okay.
Here locally?
20
23
Fishing and
Fishing and hunting.
MR. BLANCO:
19
22
Yes?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 10:
17
18
Who else would like to
share with us what they like to do?
15
16
Who else?
Something about it
Yeah, here
Well, about 60 miles south, hunting.
MR. BLANCO:
Okay.
Fishing
The Laguna Madre is a
wonderful place to fish.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 10:
trout pulled out of there.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
The biggest
162
1
MR. BLANCO:
Yeah.
2
should ask Mr. Smith about it.
3
out there.
4
5
MR. BLANCO:
Okay.
One more, please.
Yes,
sir.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 15:
I have my own
fishing boat, so I do a lot of fishing.
10
11
They're hitting
at Packery right now.
8
9
He'd really like to be
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 10:
6
7
You should ask -- you
MR. BLANCO:
Yeah.
That was Mr. Jasso,
right, Number 15?
12
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 15:
13
MR. BLANCO:
Yes, sir.
For the folks that have
14
answered the questions, those are for the rest of you
15
all.
16
Mr. Amaya, if you couldn't hunt or fish at all anymore?
17
How would you think your life would be different,
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 10:
Well, if it was
18
changed from an accident, like Mr. Garcia, it would
19
affect me a lot.
20
young, but I do also get outside and play with her too,
21
so it would affect me a lot.
I mean, I have a daughter, she's
22
MR. BLANCO:
23
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 15:
24
25
How about you, Mr. Jasso?
It would
definitely affect my life forever.
MR. BLANCO:
How about you, Mr. Peta (sic)
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
163
1
-- Peta (sic), not being able to ride that bike in the
2
afternoons or morning, how would that change your life?
3
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 44:
4
you know, I'd miss it a lot, you know.
5
like to do and if I couldn't do it.
6
MR. BLANCO:
Well, I mean,
It's something I
Well, the reason I'm asking
7
folks is because at the end of the trial, in addition to
8
all of these damages, you'll see that the law has
9
categories, but we're altogether, the 12 that are left.
10
You know, us, the lawyers, giving you the evidence, you
11
know, you discussing it.
12
establish values for those things, not a price, not a
13
dollar number, but what is the value in U.S. currency
14
for those things?
15
for over 240 years.
16
Judge.
You'll have your common sense and talk to each
17
other.
But we're gonna be talking about why it is that
18
the evidence establishes these numbers, because part it
19
is part of being human.
20
lives.
21
22
We are going to have to
And you know, we've been doing this
You'll have the guidance of the
It's our ability to enjoy our
Your Honor, am I over time?
I have one
last area that I --
23
THE COURT:
24
MR. BLANCO:
25
THE COURT:
Go ahead.
Thank you, Your Honor.
Area or question?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
164
1
2
MR. BLANCO:
It will be three questions
about an area.
3
THE COURT:
4
MR. BLANCO:
Okay.
I had a judge one time that
5
said, Mr. Blanco, never say "a couple of more
6
questions."
7
trial, and defense counsel says, when he gets up, when
8
the judge asks, do you have anymore questions?
9
gentleman says, a couple.
And I said, okay.
I agree.
We're in a
And the
And so he says the first
10
question, the second question, and the judge says,
11
that's two, sit down, Counsel.
12
specifically what I mean.
13
All right.
So I always say
So, for the last two and a half
14
hours, close to three now, we've been talking about what
15
the law calls, a negligence case.
16
does something wrong, shouldn't have been done, it is
17
what's called negligence, and they hurt somebody, the
18
question is.
19
which is gross negligence.
20
Judge, his Honor is gonna give you-all the information
21
when we get there.
22
knows that somebody's dangerous, that is likely to hurt
23
somebody, and with reckless or willful disregard for the
24
safety of others, they do it anyways.
25
charge against Dillon Transport that -- of that gross
That is when somebody
But there are other civil cases, one of
And gross negligence, the
Gross negligence is when somebody
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
And there is a
165
1
negligence.
Now, the law is fair and it requires a
2
higher level of proof.
3
convincing level of proof.
4
talk to you about.
5
have given you all of the evidence, if you are persuaded
6
-- same question that we have.
7
that Dillon Transport trucking company, acted with
8
willful disregard for the safety of the public, in
9
addition to all of the other damages that we have
It's called a clear and
And that's what I want to
At the end of this case, when we
If you are persuaded
10
already established, are you willing and capable of
11
establishing additional damages for that willful
12
disregard of the safety of the public?
13
Mr. Horowitz already smiling and shaking his head.
14
don't think Mr. Horowitz could do it.
15
Mr. Horowitz?
16
17
So I can see
I
Right,
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 37:
You know, I
wouldn't.
18
MR. BLANCO:
Anybody else?
I mean, if it
19
is proven, the safeguards of the law says -- gives a
20
person who is accused of being reckless and willful,
21
disregarding of the rights of others, is that the
22
evidence has to be clear and convincing.
23
have -- it always has to be clear.
24
evidence.
25
because of that clear and convincing.
Okay.
So you
It has to be clear
And you are -- you have to be convinced
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
The question is,
166
1
if I prove it to you, do you have any challenges
2
establishing those type of damages, they're called
3
punitive damages in a civil case?
4
problem, please raise your card.
If you have a
5
(No audible or visible response.)
6
MR. BLANCO:
All right.
I know, Your
7
Honor, I will remember other questions, but I think I'm
8
out of time.
9
THE COURT:
Ladies and gentlemen, why don't
10
you take -- stand up, take a break, okay, by that I mean
11
just stand up, take a deep breath, walk around, kind of
12
unglue your joints a little bit so that we can get
13
started on the rest.
14
restroom break?
15
we're gonna break for ten minutes.
16
on every floor and if there is a run on our restrooms,
17
remember, you can take the elevator up to every floor
18
and there will be restrooms.
19
-- in ten minutes so we can get started.
Is there anyone that needs a
Okay.
Then what we're gonna do is
There are restrooms
Please try to be back by
20
(Recess.)
21
THE BAILIFF:
22
THE COURT:
23
MR. CHAVES:
24
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 41:
25
All accounted for, Judge.
Go ahead.
I'm gonna turn that one off.
there's a gentleman missing.
Excuse me,
We have somebody missing.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
167
1
MR. CHAVES:
2
THE COURT:
3
MR. CHAVES:
4
THE COURT:
6
MR. CHAVES:
Oh, never mind.
It be 40 or
31?
Okay.
I think we're okay.
I think we're waiting on that
one juror.
8
9
Oh, who's that?
50, something like that.
5
7
We got one juror missing.
THE COURT:
here.
That'll be fine.
Everybody's prompt.
And he's
I like this jury.
10
Mr. Chaves, are you starting or Mr. Warren?
11
MR. CHAVES:
12
THE COURT:
13
MR. CHAVES:
14
May it please the Court, counsel.
I'm starting, Your Honor.
Very good.
You may proceed.
Thank you.
I guess,
15
the first question I have, is does anyone not like
16
cherry pie?
17
Okay.
All right.
Look, the Court gives
18
all the parties a short opportunity to present our side
19
of the case, and in so doing, the Court gives each
20
lawyer's side a few seconds to tell you a little bit
21
about what the case is about.
22
the questions that we're about to ask you, it makes a
23
little bit more sense why we're asking you these
24
questions.
25
of us being here today is to, at the end of the day, try
That way, when you hear
I think the Judge explained that the object
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
168
1
to get 12 folks who have no dog in the fight, aren't
2
biased one way or the other, and they're gonna hopefully
3
call it the way they see it and that's what our goal is.
4
But in order to do that, I think it's fair to you guys
5
to let you know a little bit about this accident.
6
Back on March, I believe, 3rd of 2013,
7
outside of Sinton on Highway 188, there's a curve.
And
8
in that curve, my client is driving an 18-wheeler and is
9
approaching the curve, and on the -- from the opposite
10
direction, Mr. Garcia's driving a motorcycle approaching
11
the same curve.
12
motorcycle is Mrs. Gamez.
13
there is a collision or a contact between them, and as a
14
result of that contact, the accident results and a
15
dispute arises as to whose fault that accident is.
16
The passenger on Mr. Garcia's
And as they pass each other,
The parties have not been able to resolve
17
their differences, and we're here today to let 12,
18
hopefully, people who have no interest in this lawsuit,
19
try to resolve that difference, that -- those factual
20
disputes as to whose fall the accident was, who caused
21
the accident, and what are the resulting damages that
22
resulted from this accident?
23
Now is not the time for me to try to argue
24
the case.
Now is not the time for me to present all the
25
evidence, but it's really just to give you that little
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
169
1
synopsis so that we -- when we do, like I said, ask you
2
these questions, it makes more sense why we're asking
3
you and who's asking who what.
4
Ms. Gamez, as a result of this accident,
5
has filed a lawsuit claiming that Mr. Jennings was
6
negligent in the way that he drove.
7
defend ourselves.
8
not negligent, nor did we do anything that caused this
9
accident.
We're here to
We're here to show you that we were
Ms. Gamez has also sued Dillon Trucking which
10
is my client, Mr. Jennings back there, it's his company
11
that he works for.
12
allegations about training, and things like that, that
13
Mr. Warren will talk about later on.
14
responsibility is to come before you and talk about what
15
is being alleged -- I'll use that word again -- what is
16
being alleged against Mr. Jennings.
17
that have been proven and I don't believe that there
18
will be any facts, ultimately, that will prove that
19
Mr. Jennings did anything wrong that caused this
20
accident.
21
And they're making out various
But my
There's no facts
Ms. Gamez has also sued Mr. Garcia, saying
22
that we think Mr. Jennings and Dillon caused this
23
accident, but we also think Mr. Garcia caused the
24
accident.
We agreed that Mr. Garcia did cause the
25
accident.
It's our position that Mr. Garcia caused this
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
170
1
accident because he came too close to the yellow line.
2
He was driving on the yellow line and then crossed over
3
it when --
4
MR. EDWARDS:
5
into going into the contested evidence.
6
MR. CHAVES:
7
THE COURT:
8
Your Honor, I'm gonna object
That's just -You may do a brief opening, not
the position of the parties.
9
MR. CHAVES:
10
Of course.
Thank you.
And so that is gonna be the dispute and
11
that is what you guys are gonna be called upon to
12
decide.
13
Now, I want -- I want to start out by
14
letting each of you know, or everyone know, that there's
15
no right or wrong answers to what you've given.
16
we've gotten a pretty good lesson both from Mr. Edwards
17
and Mr. Blanco that did ask the type of questions to try
18
to get answers to see if any -- any of you are bias or
19
prejudice in this way.
20
just saying, giving a couple of silly examples.
21
example, you don't judge a case because one side is from
22
Corpus Christi and the other side is from Dallas, Texas,
23
from one of the parties.
24
law, you judge it on the facts, not who they are, not
25
the color of their skin, not for what state they're
I think
And I'd like to start off by
For
When you come into a court of
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
171
1
from, not whether they work for a big company or they're
2
individuals.
3
hopefully, everyone who takes an oath as a juror judges
4
everyone equally and fairly.
5
Everyone, according to the law, and
Let me give you a good example of who can
6
be a very fair juror but might not be a fair juror in
7
this case.
8
with you guys, I might say, she makes a great witness.
9
Mr. Edwards might say, well, wait a minute, she's your
My wife, for example, if she was sitting out
10
wife, and I want her struck.
11
in a good position, unless he'd be my wife, who never
12
agrees with anything I say.
13
position to understand that you don't want someone who
14
has an appearance of bias, or an appearance of -- or may
15
have some prejudice against one side or the other.
16
so at the end of the day, what we're looking for is, are
17
those type of jurors.
18
And he would probably be
But he would be in a good
And
Now, I'm gonna give you three secrets that
19
most veniremen, and that's what you guys are called
20
right now -- really never hear.
21
almost everyone says, this is the time that we pick the
22
jury.
23
correct when she said, we don't really pick a jury.
24
cannot say, like I said, I'd like for you to be my
25
juror, and I'd wish you to be my juror, Mr. Adame, and
And what happens is,
And Judge Watts was very accurate, and very
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
I
172
1
Mr. Horowitz, I wish you would be my juror.
2
work that way.
3
get to do is what's called strikes.
4
don't like you, Mr. Horowitz.
5
Mr. Adame, or we don't like you.
6
strike six people.
7
been struck, those are our jurors.
8
9
It doesn't
We don't get to pick jurors.
What we
We could say, we
We don't like you,
And both sides get to
And the first 12 people who have not
The second secret I'm gonna give you is
that people who talk up a lot, we get to get to know
10
you.
And those who keep quiet and don't talk to us, at
11
the end of the day, we go back to the room and say, what
12
did that person say?
13
much or she didn't say very much.
14
strike her because I really don't know.
15
to get on the jury, don't talk.
16
mean by that, really, and I'm making a little bit of
17
light of it, but I want everyone to talk.
18
time to talk.
19
that you and I can talk to each other.
20
you, once the jury is sworn in, aside from saying, good
21
morning, that's about it.
22
evening or something, if we get on the elevator
23
together, but we cannot talk to you.
24
no coffee, no ride, no water.
25
sounds like we're being rude by maybe turning around, if
I don't know.
He didn't say very
So I don't want to
So if you want
If you -- and what I
Now is the
Because right now is the only opportunity
Judge Watts told
We might be able to say good
We can't offer you
And sometimes it even
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
173
1
you're getting on the elevator, we don't want to even
2
get on the same elevator.
3
to do it is because Judge Watts has some very strict
4
rules as do the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
5
cannot talk to jurors once they're impaneled because you
6
want to avoid the appearance of impropriety.
7
want to talk to me, ask me any questions, now's the time
8
to do it.
9
understand this, or I can't -- you know, I didn't
And the reason we don't want
Lawyers
So if you
If you want to say, Mr. Chaves, I don't
10
understand when Mr. Edwards was explaining this, now's
11
the time to do it.
12
the best answer that we possibly can.
13
All right.
We will -- all of us will give you
Okay?
Now, the very first question I
14
have is, I'm -- I wrote down some notes on the very
15
first question that was asked of you and that was, do
16
any of you know the lawyers or the parties?
17
down 6, 33, 43, 63, but I -- but I'm not too sure
18
because I was sitting down at the time, that I got all
19
the numbers right.
20
And I wrote
So let me ask that question.
Do any of you know any of the lawyers in
21
this case?
And I'm gonna set Mr. Edwards aside.
22
not talking about advertisement lawyers.
23
about personally know or members of their law firm?
I'm talking
24
(No audible or visible response.)
25
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
I'm
Does anyone know any of
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
174
1
the parties?
2
No. 46 and No. 61.
3
4
Okay.
And that's No. 6, No. 33, No. 54,
Okay.
Mr. Sada, how do you know -- what party do
you know?
5
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 6:
6
MR. CHAVES:
7
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 6:
8
MR. CHAVES:
9
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 6:
10
aunt to me.
11
12
Theresa Gamez.
Ms. Gamez?
Yeah.
How do you know, Ms. Gamez?
She's like an
She's my uncle's ex-wife.
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
So she was your aunt
formerly?
13
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 6:
14
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
Yeah.
I think I can easily
15
say that since you know her, I gather it would be
16
difficult for you to sit in this case and judge her?
17
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 6:
18
MR. CHAVES:
19
20
21
22
I don't know.
You don't know.
Okay.
How
long was she -- how long was she your aunt?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 6:
A long time.
I
was always at her house when I was little.
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
You know, and there's
23
nothing wrong with obviously, I mean, you don't control
24
the fact that she was your aunt and I guess now she's
25
your ex-aunt or you used to call her aunt.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
175
1
2
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 6:
that.
3
4
MR. CHAVES:
Do you still consider her your
aunt?
5
6
We still call her
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 6:
We still
communicate sometimes.
7
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
Like I was talking,
8
like sometimes, you know, you might be a great juror,
9
but in this particular case, since she's your aunt,
10
obviously, it would be a little bit difficult for you to
11
be fair and impartial, correct?
12
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 6:
13
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
Correct.
And I'm gonna ask the
14
same type of questions that Mr. Edwards asked.
This is
15
something that you already have a bias in favor of her
16
because she's your aunt?
17
her?
You would be leaning towards
18
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 6:
19
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
Yeah, family.
All right.
No, I
20
understand.
21
Given the fact that she is family and that you would be
22
leaning towards her, if the Judge put you in the
23
courtroom, that's something that you'd be leaning
24
towards her from the start to finish, right?
25
And again, there's nothing wrong with that.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 6:
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Yeah.
176
1
2
MR. CHAVES:
All right.
Okay.
how do you know -- and you're, Ms. Perrigue?
3
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 33:
4
MR. CHAVES:
5
Perrigue.
do you know, first of all?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 33:
7
MR. CHAVES:
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 33:
MR. CHAVES:
daughters?
13
14
No, I'm friends
Oh, you're friends with her
daughter, okay.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 33:
Since about the
age of 13 and I'm 30.
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
And how long have you
been friends with her daughter?
21
22
And how old are your
Your daughter and her daughter?
MR. CHAVES:
19
20
I'm friends with
with her daughter.
17
18
Okay.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 33:
15
16
And how do you
her daughter.
11
12
Ms. Gamez?
Ms. Gamez.
know Ms. Gamez.
9
10
Perrigue.
Ms. Perrigue, who
6
8
Number 33,
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 33:
Since the age of
13.
23
MR. CHAVES:
Since the age of -- I'm sorry.
24
I'm like Mr. Blanco, you know, I need to listen a little
25
bit closer.
Since like the age -- so it's been a long
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
177
1
time.
Been to her home?
2
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 33:
3
MR. CHAVES:
4
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 33:
5
MR. CHAVES:
6
Yes.
Have you known about this
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 33:
Yes, and I know
the accident and everything.
9
MR. CHAVES:
10
11
You've known her?
wreck for a while and the fact that she --
7
8
Yes.
Okay.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 33:
I'm familiar
with it.
12
MR. CHAVES:
And I gather she told you
13
about the accident and how it happened and things of
14
that nature.
15
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 33:
I talked to her
16
daughter around the time that it happened so, I mean, I
17
know what happened.
18
19
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
Would you agree with
me, just like Mr. Sada did -- is it Sada?
20
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 6:
21
MR. CHAVES:
Sada.
Sada.
That given the fact
22
that you're a close personal friend of the family and
23
the fact that you know personal -- have some personal
24
knowledge of the facts that's been related to you, that
25
you probably would be leaning towards her in this case?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
178
1
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 33:
2
MR. CHAVES:
All right.
Yes.
And that's some of
3
the bias that you feel, if the Judge put you in the box,
4
that's a bias you couldn't change?
5
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 33:
6
MR. CHAVES:
7
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 33:
8
No.
Am I correct?
Yes, you're
correct.
9
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
And just to kind of
10
button it up, this is -- you're one of those classic
11
jurors that, you might make a great juror somewhere
12
else, but in this case, you couldn't be a fair and
13
impartial juror, could you?
14
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 33:
15
MR. CHAVES:
16
Okay.
No.
The same thing with
you, Mr. Sada.
17
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 6:
18
MR. CHAVES:
19
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
Okay.
No.
Number 54.
Yes, sir.
I don't
20
necessarily know, but maybe we run in the same circles
21
and met her.
22
met her, but I don't know anything about this case.
23
24
25
But as far as knowing her, I think I've
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
As far as meeting her,
under what circumstances did you meet her?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Like maybe a
179
1
rally or the Harley shop.
2
circles with riders.
We kind of run in the same
3
MR. CHAVES:
4
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
5
Okay.
So I may have
just met her.
6
MR. CHAVES:
Anything -- anything about
7
your association in meeting her, knowing her, that would
8
-- you think --
9
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
10
11
MR. CHAVES:
No.
-- would affect your ability
to be a fair and impartial juror?
12
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
13
MR. CHAVES:
14
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 46:
Okay.
15
Gamez.
16
known her for about 14 years.
No.
Number 46.
I know Theresa
Her daughter's one of my best friends.
17
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
I've
And since her
18
daughter's your best friend, I gather you know about the
19
accident?
20
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 46:
21
MR. CHAVES:
22
And as you've sat here, you've
listened and --
23
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 46:
24
MR. CHAVES:
25
Yes.
Yeah.
-- and would you agree with me
that you would not be a fair and impartial juror?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
180
1
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 46:
2
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
Yes.
Yes, sir.
And I'm trying to short
3
circuit so I don't take two and a half hours, but even
4
if the Judge puts you in the box and said, follow the
5
law, this is one of those cases that you would already
6
have a bias on, true?
7
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 46:
8
MR. CHAVES:
9
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 61:
Thank you, ma'am.
10
It's been over like 30 years.
11
together, same neighborhood.
12
MR. CHAVES:
Yes.
And No. 61.
Mr. Garcia.
We went to school
Okay.
I'm gonna ask you to
13
speak a little louder.
14
I'm hearing that you've known Mr. Garcia for over 30
15
years.
16
But as I'm hearing you, I think
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 61:
Well, I haven't
17
seen him in a long time, in many years.
18
I first met him, over 30 years in the neighborhood.
19
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
But that's when
And how did you meet
20
him or what was the -- I mean, is it just as friends,
21
co-worker or what?
22
23
24
25
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 61:
He was dating
one of our friends back in the neighborhood.
MR. CHAVES:
Anything about knowing him for
over 30 years that you feel that in this case you
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
181
1
couldn't be a fair and impartial juror?
2
3
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 61:
circumstances, I did just see him so it might affect --
4
MR. CHAVES:
5
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 61:
6
Okay.
You think it would?
(Nodding head up
and down.)
7
MR. CHAVES:
8
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 61:
9
MR. CHAVES:
10
THE COURT:
11
MR. CHAVES:
12
Under the
just repeat it.
13
Is that a, yes?
Yes.
Okay.
I'm sorry, I did not hear that.
She thought -- well, let me
You think it would affect your --
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 61:
I didn't see him
14
the first time, but when I came back from lunch is when
15
I saw him and I realized that.
16
can be a fair juror.
17
MR. CHAVES:
But it might affect if I
And in this particular case,
18
you feel like you'd have a bias towards him because
19
you've known him?
Is that a, yes?
20
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 61:
21
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
Yes.
What hasn't been talked
22
about very much is some of the witnesses that may
23
testify.
24
a lot of them are from out of town, but I want to know
25
if any of you know any of these names.
And I'm not gonna go over all of them because
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
182
1
Laura Harris.
2
runs an Allstate agency.
3
Okay.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 37:
I think I did
business with them years ago.
6
7
Anybody know Laura Harris?
And --
4
5
She is Ms. Gamez's boss and
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
Let me just get the
numbers down.
8
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 37:
9
MR. CHAVES:
10
right.
One more time.
11
And No. 4, okay.
37.
37, 47 and 48 and 39.
37, 47, 48 and 39.
Anyone else?
Anyone else know Laura Harris?
12
(No audible or visible response.)
13
MR. CHAVES:
14
talked to you quite a bit.
15
Laura?
Mr. Horowitz, I think we've
Number 47, how do you know
Did I get the number right?
Number 47?
16
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 47:
17
MR. CHAVES:
18
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 47:
19
her?
21
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 47:
Okay.
Has been for
probably two or three years now.
23
25
How do I know
She's my homeowner's and car insurance agent.
MR. CHAVES:
24
That's me.
Yeah.
20
22
All
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
No. 48, how do you know
her?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 48:
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Same way.
183
1
MR. CHAVES:
2
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 48:
3
MR. CHAVES:
4
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 39:
5
Same way?
Okay.
homeowner's insurance agent.
Number 39.
MR. CHAVES:
7
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
8
MR. CHAVES:
9
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
MR. CHAVES:
She's my
I've never met her.
6
10
Yeah.
Okay.
And No. 4.
Same thing.
Okay.
Car insurance.
Car insurance.
Out of those
11
four people that know, Laura, is there anything about
12
knowing her or having insurance from her that would make
13
you believe her more or be biased one way or the other?
14
(No audible or visible response.)
15
MR. CHAVES:
16
And she's gonna testify about
Ms. Gamez's work and before and after the accident.
17
Okay.
What about Ruben Pena?
18
(No audible or visible response.)
19
MR. CHAVES:
20
(No audible or visible response.)
21
MR. CHAVES:
22
(No audible or visible response.)
23
MR. CHAVES:
24
(No audible or visible response.)
25
MR. CHAVES:
Shirley Pena?
Jesse Ybarra?
Cynthia Ybarra?
Anybody know any of those?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
184
1
Those folks were riding motorcycles on the same day of
2
the accident as Mr. Garcia was driving.
3
driving together, but further ahead.
4
folks?
They were
Anybody know those
5
(No audible or visible response.)
6
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
Now, one of the things
7
that's fairly obvious, at least to me, is I walk into a
8
courtroom in a lawsuit of this nature is that there's
9
individuals versus a company.
In this case, Mr. Garcia
10
and Ms. Gamez are suing Dillon Trucking, and of course,
11
my driver, my client, Mr. Jennings.
12
jurors are out there saying, well, you're a corporation,
13
and they're individuals, and I'm gonna line up with the
14
individuals because I don't like companies.
15
anyone that feels that just because one side is a
16
corporation and my client's a driver for that
17
corporation or that company, that they shouldn't be
18
treated equally as individuals who walk into the
19
courtroom?
And sometimes
Is there
20
(No audible or visible response.)
21
MR. CHAVES:
I think it's fairly easy to
22
see that, you know, everyone needs to be treated
23
equally.
24
Right?
25
Everybody agree with that?
Raise your hand.
(A show of hands.)
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
185
1
2
MR. CHAVES:
a wreck?
3
Okay.
Raise your hand.
(A show of hands.)
4
MR. CHAVES:
Keep them up.
5
them.
6
of you think it was your fault?
7
8
9
Has anyone ever been in
I want to see
Now, of those who have been in a wreck, how many
(A show of hands.)
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
Fair enough.
Okay.
Now, I think, with just looking, that I saw about 80
10
percent of you did not think it was your fault.
11
that's a rough guess.
12
was a wreck, and a lawsuit's been filed.
13
doesn't believe that it was his fault and we're here to
14
defend ourselves because of that.
15
here who feels that simply because he has been sued,
16
that automatically, he must have done something?
17
I'm gonna give you my little story, and it really is
18
along the criminal lines.
19
But here's my question.
And
There
My client
But is there anyone
And
I have a brother, I have a sister, and an
20
uncle, I have just about everybody in the family will
21
come and tell me, when a person's arrested, you know
22
they're guilty it's just how much.
23
say, the difference between a person who pleads guilty
24
and a person who doesn't plead guilty is the one who
25
doesn't plead guilty regrets it.
I've had lawyers
Meaning that almost
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
186
1
everybody believes that if you've been arrested, you
2
must have done something wrong.
3
not a criminal lawyer.
4
there's a lot of people who feel that, well, if you
5
wouldn't have gotten sued if you hadn't done something
6
wrong.
My first answer is, I'm
I don't know.
But in civil,
Does anybody feel that way?
7
(No audible or visible response.)
8
MR. CHAVES:
9
Does anybody feel that if you
get in a wreck and it's not your fault, but you get sued
10
anyway, that you don't have a right to come in and
11
defend yourself and say, tell the jury, look juror, I'm
12
willing to come to the courtroom.
13
I'm not going to just accept what you're accusing me of.
14
I'm gonna defend myself, I'm gonna present the facts to
15
the jury, and I'm gonna let the jury decide.
16
anyone blame Mr. Jennings for coming before you and
17
saying, I want my day in court, I want to be judged by
18
12 fair and impartial jurors?
19
juror not to judge me because I work for a company, but
20
judge me because of who I am, and the -- what I did on
21
the day that I did and the manner that I did it as a
22
driver of a truck.
23
that?
I'm willing to say,
Does
And I also want every
Does anyone have a problem with
24
(No audible or visible response.)
25
MR. CHAVES:
In this case, there are two
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
187
1
other independent witnesses, one is named Randy Collins.
2
I want to know if anybody knows Randy Collins.
3
following Mr. Jennings at the time of the accident and
4
he's gonna tell you what he saw and what he didn't see.
5
Does anyone know Mr. Collins, I believe.
6
7
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
MR. CHAVES:
9
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
I'm sorry?
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
Texas.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
14
MR. CHAVES:
18
19
Okay.
Wow.
Small world.
Would the fact that he dated your wife -- I
mean -PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
That was 35
years ago, sir.
20
MR. CHAVES:
21
questions, but I'm not gonna go there.
22
Yeah.
Okay.
16
17
He dated my wife
He's from Boerne,
13
15
He dated my wife
for a little while in high school.
11
12
Okay.
before I dated my wife.
8
10
He was
All right.
I'm tempted to ask a bunch of
The other person that you will
23
hear about, there was another independent witness that
24
you'll hear is Mr. Teamann and he's from Boerne, Texas.
25
Anyone know Mr. Teamann?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
188
1
MR. WARREN:
Charlie.
2
MR. CHAVES:
Huh?
3
MR. WARREN:
Charlie.
4
MR. CHAVES:
Yeah, Charlie Teamann.
5
Anyone
know Charlie Teamann?
6
(No audible or visible response.)
7
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
Now, I asked the
8
question a little earlier, has anyone ever been involved
9
in a wreck and you raised your hands.
I do want to know
10
how many of you have been involved in a wreck that
11
resulted in a lawsuit.
12
And we're gonna go a little bit slower here.
13
first row it's No. 10.
14
15, 19.
15
Fifth row -- okay, we have 41, 42.
16
and 59.
17
75, 77, 78.
Can you raise your hands?
The next row is 66, 67.
Okay.
From the
Second row, 11 and 12, and 19,
Third row, 28 and 30.
18
Okay.
Fourth row, 47, 48,
Fifth row, I see 56
The next row is 71,
Now, out of those who have just
19
raised their hand and the numbers I've taken down, how
20
many of you -- and I think all of you-all indicated that
21
you-all had gotten in a wreck that resulted in a
22
lawsuit.
23
the lawsuit?
24
Number 30 and 28.
25
How many of you were plaintiffs who brought
All right.
THE COURT:
There's my California person.
There's another one.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
189
1
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
56, 67, 77, and 78.
And No.
2
19.
3
Let me -- you were involved in a lawsuit where you sued
4
somebody?
5
Let me start off, No. 19, you're the lowest.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 19:
6
motor vehicle accident.
7
early 20's.
It was a long time ago in my
8
MR. CHAVES:
9
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 19:
Early 20's?
10
MR. CHAVES:
11
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 19:
12
Yes, it was a
Okay.
I'm in my 40's.
I wasn't gonna ask.
A long time ago.
It wasn't my fault.
13
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
14
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 19:
I made them stay
15
there and not even move the vehicles so we took pictures
16
when the cops came.
17
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
You know, one of the --
18
and I'm gonna focus in on the people who filed the
19
lawsuits.
20
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 19:
21
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
One of the things I worry
22
about when I'm defending a lawsuit is that, you know, if
23
you previously filed a lawsuit, whether you have empathy
24
or say, gee, I remember 10 years ago, I was involved in
25
a wreck, and I had to sue somebody to get money, and I
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
190
1
know what they're going through, and I'm on their side
2
automatically.
3
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 19:
4
MR. CHAVES:
5
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 19:
6
MR. CHAVES:
7
You don't feel that way?
Okay.
that would be unfair?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 19:
9
MR. CHAVES:
Yes.
To bring in that kind of
feeling into this court?
11
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 19:
12
MR. CHAVES:
13
No.
And you can see where
8
10
No.
Okay.
Yes.
Number 30, tell me
about your lawsuit.
14
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 30:
Oh, I got
15
rear-ended on the freeway and the guy tore off the
16
bumper.
17
wanted my mother-in-law's car fixed and my medical to be
18
fixed and that was it.
19
It tore off the bumper of the car and I just
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
Same question.
The
20
fact that you brought a lawsuit, could you set that
21
aside and judge this case?
22
23
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 30:
I could set it
aside.
24
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
Number 28.
25
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 28:
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
My wife and I
191
1
were driving and I was hit by a drunk driver from
2
behind.
3
my wife's medical and they didn't pay.
4
MR. CHAVES:
And we just wanted them to pay for the car and
5
you.
6
in this case?
Okay.
The same question for
Can you set that aside and be fair and impartial
7
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 28:
8
MR. CHAVES:
9
All right.
Yes, sir.
I think we jump to
No. 56 as far as you sued someone?
10
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 56:
11
about a few months ago.
12
me.
Yes, it was
She passed a red light and hit
I just got my car fixed.
13
MR. CHAVES:
Anything about that incident
14
or history that would bring you -- bring that sort of
15
feelings?
16
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 56:
17
MR. CHAVES:
No, sir.
Anything that would make you
18
feel like you're in line with the plaintiff just because
19
of that?
20
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 56:
21
MR. CHAVES:
22
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 67:
23
MR. CHAVES:
24
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 67:
A gentleman.
25
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
All right.
Okay.
No.
Number 67, 67.
Yes.
Who did you sue?
A gentleman?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
All
192
1
right.
Was there a car wreck?
2
3
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 67:
totally ugly.
4
MR. CHAVES:
5
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 67:
6
MR. CHAVES:
7
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 67:
8
Yes, my car was
Were you injured in the case?
Okay.
Yes, I was.
And -I'm sorry.
All
I know is this --
9
MR. CHAVES:
No, no, no.
We're just really
10
trying to find out if you had some experience that would
11
cause you to feel uncomfortable about being in this
12
lawsuit?
13
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 67:
14
MR. CHAVES:
15
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 67:
16
MR. CHAVES:
17
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 67:
18
Okay.
No.
How long ago was that?
Maybe six years.
I'm sorry?
Maybe about six
years.
19
MR. CHAVES:
20
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 77:
21
by an employee from Ford Motor Company that was test
22
driving a vehicle.
23
24
25
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
Okay.
Number 77, yes, ma'am.
I was rear-ended
Same question, anything
about that?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 77:
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
It's been like
193
1
over 20 years.
2
3
MR. CHAVES:
Twenty years ago.
feel like it would influence you one way or the other?
4
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 77:
5
MR. CHAVES:
6
All right.
No, sir.
And the last one I
have is 78.
7
8
You don't
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
I got T-boned by
and totalled the car (inaudible) --
9
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
Okay.
Well, there's no
10
allegations in this case of anybody being drunk, there's
11
no -- as a matter of fact, there's no allegations in
12
this case about excessive speed or that anybody was
13
speeding or anything like that.
14
your memory banks that would make you go back and say, I
15
can't be fair and impartial in this case?
So, anything that in
16
(No audible or visible response.)
17
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
18
one question.
19
MR. CHAVES:
20
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
21
I actually have
I'm sorry?
I have one
question.
22
MR. CHAVES:
Yes, sir.
23
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
24
motorcycle was involved in the accident?
25
cruiser or was it a sport bike?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
What type of
Was it a
194
1
MR. CHAVES:
A cruiser, right?
2
MR. WARREN:
A cruiser.
3
MR. CHAVES:
Yeah, a cruiser.
4
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
5
MR. CHAVES:
6
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
7
A cruiser.
I'm sorry?
A full size
cruiser?
8
MR. CHAVES:
I believe so.
9
MR. WARREN:
It's a Honda Goldwing.
10
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 78:
A Goldwing.
11
MR. CHAVES:
12
Okay.
13
(No audible or visible response.)
14
MR. CHAVES:
Yeah, a Honda Goldwing.
I don't -- does anybody know me?
Okay.
I don't do television
15
ads.
I do represent people who have been injured
16
before, like Mr. Edwards.
17
defendants.
18
know what it's like when I'm over there on that side of
19
the courtroom bringing a lawsuit, that you're seeking to
20
establish your case.
21
haven't, perhaps been told, is that there's really the
22
third secret that I was gonna tell you about in jury
23
selection and it's really no secret at all.
24
Judge told you that in our country, we don't let
25
government officials make decisions when there's a
But I also represent
I do both sides of the docket and so, I
And one of the things that you
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Because the
195
1
dispute between its citizens.
There's a court of law.
2
By the way, it's a public courtroom.
3
any day of the week and you can see murder trials, you
4
can see custody battles, you can see lawsuits like this
5
between corporations, you can see a variety of cases.
6
This is your courtroom, this is your courthouse.
7
the citizens, pay for this courthouse and the privilege.
8
And I'll tell you, it is a privilege to serve as a
9
juror.
You can come here
We,
I've had a good fortune to travel around the
10
world when I was much younger and study with a lot of
11
law professors and judges.
12
and went over there and studied their judicial system
13
and how they make their decisions.
14
I was asked over and over and over again.
15
world do you trust people who know nothing about the
16
case, who you pick off from the schools, clerks,
17
truckers, teachers, and bring them into the room, they
18
don't know anybody, they don't know anything about the
19
case?
20
were amazed and marvelled at how we trusted our citizens
21
to make decisions for them and resolve disputes.
22
really is -- I agree with Judge Watts, it's one of the
23
most wonderful systems in the world, and we have a lot
24
of people who have -- how many veterans do we have here?
25
We studied the Soviet Union
And the one question
How in the world do you trust them?
(A show of hands.)
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
How in the
And they
It
196
1
MR. CHAVES:
I'm telling you, thank you
2
guys for your service and gals these days.
3
telling you, this is one of the systems that we fight
4
for.
5
But I'm
The Judge talked about some revolutions,
6
and there's been a lot of bloodshed and tears, and one
7
of the things we fight for is to maintain our jury
8
system because it is -- it works.
9
of you and the 12 of you are gonna sit there and listen
We're gonna take 12
10
to the facts.
And they're gonna be disputed facts.
We
11
have -- we have -- we're biased.
12
of things and we can't resolve our differences so we're
13
gonna let you do it, the 12 of you make that decision.
14
And you heard -- I mean, Mr. Blanco said, you know, does
15
anybody blame, if you have to come and bring into court
16
to prove your case to get justice?
17
justice too.
18
anyone that will not give justice to both sides?
We have our own view
Well, we want
Justice is a two-way street.
Is there
19
(No audible or visible response.)
20
MR. CHAVES:
All right.
Now, let me tell
21
you that in civil cases, the Judge alluded to this a
22
little bit earlier, the plaintiff gets to go first.
23
That's just the nature of the beast.
24
gonna get to go first, and I have to sit here and let
25
him finish his voir dire.
Mr. Edwards is
And then Mr. Blanco goes, and
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
197
1
I have to wait and let him finish, and then I get my
2
chance.
3
procedural rules, we have to follow them.
4
when they go first, you begin to hear all of their side
5
of the story, and it's -- it's like -- my mom used to
6
tell me, when my brother would go up and said that I did
7
something wrong and my mom would come out and say, why
8
did you do this?
9
Did you hear the whole story?
All right.
That's just the rules.
They're
And sometimes
And I said, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait.
And when they heard the
10
whole story, when they heard all of the evidence, there
11
was a difference of opinion.
12
here is, will each of you promise me that you will not
13
make up your mind in this case until you've heard all of
14
the evidence?
15
And by the way, it's not gonna be for one day, it's not
16
gonna be for two hours.
17
think Thursday, Friday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, to
18
all of next week, I think.
19
of evidence just from one side.
20
meanwhile, I can't get up and say, well, wait a minute,
21
I'd like to put in one witness in there somewhere.
22
jury -- all the jury is hearing is one side.
23
the way the rules work.
24
say, you know what, we've heard -- we're only hearing
25
one side.
And what I'm trying to say
Because they're gonna get to go first.
It's gonna be for a day, I
And you're gonna hear a lot
But you're not -- and
This
That's not
Will each of you promise me to
We've got to wait until we hear both sides of
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
198
1
the story before we can make up our mind.
2
have a problem with that?
Does anyone
3
(No audible or visible response.)
4
MR. CHAVES:
Let me take it one step
5
further.
There's something called the adverse party
6
rule.
7
Evidence -- of Procedure, that says if Mr. Edwards or
8
Mr. Blanco want to call my witnesses during their case,
9
they can do it.
It's a procedural rule under Texas Rules of
Meaning, tomorrow morning, my client,
10
Mr. Jennings, may be the very first witness, because
11
they can adversely call him.
12
sneaky bad lawyers if they do that.
13
option that they have if they want to do that.
14
places me in the position that my witness will have
15
testified, and when it comes to my turn, there's no need
16
to put Mr. Jennings back on.
17
witnesses, like, I plan on calling Mr. Collins, Charlie
18
Teamann, Dr. Perez, Dr. Dennis, Dirk Smith and
19
Mr. Sievers.
20
then I don't have anybody.
21
well, you know what, gee, they called 22 witnesses and
22
you called zero witnesses, therefore, I'm gonna vote
23
with them.
24
and the law will tell you that you don't judge a case on
25
the number of witnesses that one side calls versus the
Now, they're not being
That's just an
But it
And if they call all of my
And if they call all of those out of line,
And I may have a juror say,
And here's the question.
Because the Court
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
199
1
other one.
If that was the case then we'd always be --
2
he'd call 20 witnesses and I'd make sure I'd call 25.
3
And if I called 25, he'd make sure he called 30.
4
there would be a never ending battle of who could call
5
the most witnesses.
6
case.
7
comes in and what you believe.
8
weight that you give to that evidence?
9
Mr. Edwards calls it, that witness, Mr. Blanco calls
And
That's not the way you judge a
The way you judge a case is on what evidence
What is the credible
And whether
10
that witness, or whether I call that witness, or
11
Mr. Warren, you're to give that witness that equal
12
weight, irrespective of who calls them.
13
promise to do that?
Will everybody
You-all follow me?
14
(General response.)
15
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
And the reason -- like
16
I said, that's important because, if you didn't do that
17
otherwise we'd be calling the same witnesses and you'd
18
be hearing the same thing over and over and over again.
19
And the biggest gripe I hear from jurors is:
20
heard enough.
21
Keep it short.
Let's get on with it.
I think you're feeling that way right now.
22
Okay.
23
more things I need to talk to you about.
24
25
We've
But there are -- there are a lot -- couple of
In cases of this nature, you will hear not
only from the factual witnesses who saw the accident.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
200
1
First of all, you're gonna hear from the parties.
2
Mr. Jennings is gonna tell you what he did.
3
is gonna tell you what he did.
4
you what she remembers.
5
in the accident.
6
the independent witnesses who have no dog in the fight.
7
That's Mr. Collins.
8
Collins, III, who were following Mr. Jennings.
9
will hear from Charles Teamann who was following
Mr. Garcia
Ms. Gamez is gonna tell
Those are the people involved
You will also hear from the witnesses,
I think it's Collins, Jr., and
Excuse me.
And you
10
Mr. Garcia's motorcycle.
But in addition to
11
those factual witnesses, you will hear what's called
12
reconstruction experts.
13
both sides and they've tried to piece back the accident
14
as best they could and give you their version of what
15
they think happened.
16
by one.
17
everything in 30 minutes.
18
time.
19
base your decision on what factually they're telling
20
you.
21
or listen to the evidence in this case and listen to the
22
witnesses?
Experts who have come by on
All these witnesses will come one
It's not like a TV show.
We can't do
So it is gonna take some
But I want you to listen to every witness and
Is there anyone that feels that they cannot base
23
(No audible or visible response.)
24
MR. CHAVES:
25
other thing.
Okay.
Let me tell you one
Procedurally, there is something called
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
201
1
depositions.
Most witnesses we'll be able to call live
2
in this case.
3
deposition.
4
think all the lawyers agree, that you are to give equal
5
weight to the deposition testimony that's played for
6
you.
7
to, as in a court of law, and all the lawyers are there
8
to question the witness.
9
because they're from Georgia, or from out of town, or
There are a few that are called by video
The Court will probably tell you, and I
The testimony is before a court reporter, sworn
But some of them can't be here
10
for whatever reason they can't be here.
Is there anyone
11
that would not give credence or equal weight to
12
testimony that's presented by deposition?
13
be a video.
It's going to
14
(No audible or visible response.)
15
MR. CHAVES:
All right.
Now, I believe one
16
question that you asked earlier and it's -- Spears,
17
Ms. Spears.
18
the amount you're asking for?
19
No, you don't.
20
and the credibility -- let me repeat those two words --
21
the weight and the credibility of each witness that
22
testifies and every piece of evidence that comes in.
23
you believe it and say, you know what, I believe what
24
that guy was saying, you have a right to do that.
25
if you say, you know, I heard -- I heard the mouth
You asked the question, do I have to award
Let me be very direct.
You are the sole judges of the weight
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
And
If
202
1
moving, but I ain't believing what's coming out.
2
have that right too.
3
of millions, apparently, you have a right to put
4
whatever number you feel is a fair amount based on the
5
evidence.
6
You
And if a lawyer is asking for tens
It's that simple.
Yes, sir?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
If I can ask, I
7
don't know, so the individual is being sued for monetary
8
damages?
9
MR. CHAVES:
Yes, sir.
10
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
11
MR. CHAVES:
12
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
13
MR. CHAVES:
The individual?
Mr. Jennings, yes, sir.
Okay.
And that's why he's here to
14
defend himself.
And we'll be happy to present the
15
evidence to you and let you make that decision, if
16
there's any fault at all.
17
question, Mr. Hinojosa.
18
jurors are listening to experts come in and say, well,
19
they should have done this, or should have done this, or
20
could have done this or would have done that is they're
21
giving their opinions about what they think should have
22
happened, I guess, to put it nicely.
23
gonna ask you, the Court's gonna ask you to judge both
24
sides fairly and equally, and base your decision on the
25
evidence, okay?
But I'm glad you asked that
Because one of the things, when
But the Judge is
And that doesn't mean hindsight.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
That
203
1
doesn't mean, could you have done it better, would you
2
have done it differently, because I think everyone knows
3
that if you were in an accident and you said, well, if I
4
hadn't gotten up five minutes earlier, I wouldn't have
5
been involved in that accident.
6
been involved in lawsuits where experts come in and say,
7
well, the accident happened because he drank two cups of
8
coffee instead of one cup of coffee.
9
left earlier the accident wouldn't have happened.
And believe me, I've
If he had just
Or
10
the accident wouldn't have happened if he had just sped
11
up a little bit and there wouldn't have been anybody
12
there.
13
with all these Monday morning quarterbacking with
14
hindsight.
15
people in there after an accident happens and they can
16
tell you, for the right price, what -- how an accident
17
could have happened.
18
called upon to judge what a human being, what an
19
ordinary reasonably prudent individual would have done
20
under the same or similar circumstances, not what a
21
super human being would have done, not what someone with
22
20/20 hindsight, but someone who -- what an ordinary
23
prudent and reasonable person would have done in the
24
same or similar circumstances.
25
Or the accident wouldn't have -- if you come up
And hindsight's perfect 20/20.
Boy, you get
But you are gonna be judged --
Is there anyone that feels that they could
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
204
1
not follow that instruction if it's given to you by the
2
Court?
3
(No audible or visible response.)
4
MR. CHAVES:
All right.
Now, a lot of
5
questions have been asked and I'm trying not to go over
6
a lot of them because, you know, it's just really
7
obviously being repetitive.
8
-- I do want to talk to you about prejudice.
9
talked about bias, and I want to talk to you about
But I want to talk to you
We've
10
prejudice.
And I'm not talking about black and white.
11
Mr. Jennings is an African American.
12
are gone that we even have to talk about that kind of
13
stuff.
I hope the days
At least in our community, I don't think we do.
14
But I do want to talk about prejudice
15
against 18-wheelers.
16
Mr. Edwards.
17
motorcycle drivers.
18
people who feel like -- some people I know that say, you
19
know what, those 18-wheelers, they come down barreling
20
down the road, run me off, all this truck traffic going
21
up and down the roads, I don't like it.
22
like truck drivers.
23
Now, I'm gonna do the opposite of
He talked about prejudices against
And does anyone -- there's a lot of
I just don't
Now, I don't have a dog story to tell you
24
when I was 12 years old.
But I do want you to reach
25
into your memory banks and if there's anything, any
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
205
1
experience that you have or anything that tells you that
2
you just don't like 18-wheelers.
3
you don't have to have any experience.
4
here that just doesn't like 18-wheeler drivers?
As a matter of fact,
Is there anyone
5
(No audible or visible response.)
6
MR. CHAVES:
7
(No audible or visible response.)
8
MR. CHAVES:
9
10
you're a truck driver.
Anyone?
Mr. Jasso.
Is that -- I know
But do people ever just tell you
they don't like drivers like you?
11
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 15:
12
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
Not really.
All right.
More
13
importantly, more importantly, will everyone treat a
14
truck driver the same as anybody else?
15
and hope that Mr. Edwards wants everyone to treat a
16
motorcycle driver the same way with, equally.
17
in total agreement with that.
18
both sides, we have an 18-wheeler and we have a
19
motorcycle which is probably a little bit unusual.
20
does everyone agree that both the 18-wheeler truck
21
driver and the motorcycle driver should be treated
22
fairly and equally?
I would think
I think in this case,
23
UNIDENTIFIED PROSPECTIVE JUROR:
24
MR. CHAVES:
25
And I'm
Okay.
But
Yes.
The question was asked
in a funny way, but my memory is -- it was either
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
206
1
Mr. Blanco or Mr. Edwards asked the question like, would
2
everyone agree that we all ought to start out even?
3
there's a very natural tendency to say everybody ought
4
to start out even.
5
says.
6
county, anybody can file a lawsuit for any reason.
7
Shocking as that might sound.
8
a frivolous lawsuit that you can get punished if you
9
file it frivolously.
And
But let me tell you what the law
In this country, and in this state, and in this
There is something called
But aside from that, pay your
10
filing fee and you can go and make allegations for
11
whatever you want and ask for as much money as you want.
12
Fortunately, the law also requires that if you do do
13
that, you have the burden of proof.
14
being alleged to have done something, or if Mr. Jennings
15
is alleged to have done something wrong, Mr. Jennings
16
could just sit here and say, prove it.
17
you did anything wrong.
18
wrong.
19
case.
20
a preponderance of the evidence.
21
and put on evidence that he did something wrong and that
22
what he did caused the -- was a proximate cause of the
23
accident and that this was his fault.
24
ought to start out this way because we don't -- you
25
know, the burden is on them to prove that we did
So that if I'm
I don't think
I don't think I did anything
And the burden is on the plaintiff to prove his
And it's not an easy burden, by the way.
It's by
You have to come in
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
And so, it really
207
1
something wrong.
2
gonna sit and wait for that.
3
our evidence and say, well, we didn't do anything wrong.
4
And to the contrary, we think you did something wrong to
5
cause the accident.
6
burden, we're gonna come before you and put on evidence
7
and show you how this accident really happened and whose
8
fault this accident really is.
9
But we're not coming before you and
We're prepared to put on
And even though it's not our
And I think you heard Mr. Blanco said, at
10
the end of the day, I think this is gonna be a
11
comparative.
12
fault and we think that --
I think it's gonna be Mr. Blanco is at
13
MR. BLANCO:
Yes, I am at fault.
14
MR. CHAVES:
-- Mr. Blanco's client is at
15
fault and that Mr. Jennings is at fault.
16
disagree.
17
-- yes, yes, sir?
18
19
MR. CHAVES:
That is something that the
Court does not allow me to go into.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
So there was no
insurance?
24
25
Was there any
tickets issued?
22
23
We do think, at the end of the day, that the
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
20
21
And we
THE COURT:
their case.
They get to briefly talk about
They don't get to try the case in voir
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
208
1
dire.
2
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
3
MR. CHAVES:
4
My point is, the burden
is on them to prove the case, okay?
5
6
Okay.
All right.
Yes, sir?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 10:
If we are one of
the 12 elected, can we ask any questions at any time?
7
MR. CHAVES:
The rules do not allow that.
8
You know, it's interesting you ask that.
In some
9
states, once you're on the jury, you can ask questions
10
or even write questions up to the judge.
11
trial and in this state, we -- it's generally not
12
allowed.
13
But during
Now, the Judge can do whatever she wants.
14
And you know, sometimes some Judges do allow that, I
15
think, but --
16
THE COURT:
I'll allow you to take notes,
17
but until we have greater guidance on that, I don't want
18
to have to retry the case because I made a ruling that
19
is not -- I know, in a capital murder case,
20
Judge Villarreal allowed that and he was reversed.
21
we do not have any guidance right now as far as the
22
Rules of Civil Procedure.
23
engage in questions of any of the witnesses or pass
24
notes to the judge to ask those questions.
25
you feel any better, I don't get to ask questions
So
You will not be able to
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
If it makes
209
1
either.
2
MR. CHAVES:
And like I said, in some
3
states that's allowed, but here it's generally not.
So
4
-- but it's our job to anticipate all the questions that
5
a juror may ask.
6
Mr. Edwards, Mr. Warren and myself, we're gonna try to
7
anticipate every question that you possibly could think
8
of.
9
but lawyers miss things too.
And I can tell you, Mr. Blanco,
And I think we're gonna do a pretty good job at it,
And you'd be surprised how
10
jurors sometimes see things that we don't because we're
11
in the middle of things, but it's up to you to -- to
12
listen, that's why we want you to listen.
13
you to listen to every -- every witness.
14
every piece of evidence.
15
And I want
Listen to
Now, one of the things, we've been talking
16
about is fault and liability.
And Mr. Blanco's correct.
17
You will be asked a question as to -- and it's not
18
really -- the question is, whose negligence, if any,
19
proximately caused the occasion in question?
20
gonna be A, Mr. Garcia, or it might be Mr. Jennings, but
21
it's gonna be the parties.
22
and as far as causing the accident itself, and it may be
23
Mr. -- Dillon Trucking, I don't know.
24
asked to determine whether any of the parties were at
25
fault or no party was at fault.
And it's
Mr. Garcia, Mr. Jennings,
But you'll be
That's going to be up
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
210
1
to you.
Just like the damage question, Ms. Spears, it's
2
the same thing with the liability.
3
judge of -- and -- of the credibility and the weight
4
that you give each witness and every piece of evidence.
5
Okay.
You get to be the
Now, let me talk to you about
6
damages.
There's no question that in this case there
7
was some serious damages.
8
otherwise.
9
knee, and a finger, I believe, and there's some --
10
there's some serious damages which were sustained.
11
do not agree with the extent of all of the damages, and
12
that's gonna be for the medical testimony for you to
13
hear.
14
that that will be disputed.
15
that here, but you will hear no one question, obviously,
16
that this was a serious case of injuries.
17
the extent that they're claiming, because a couple of
18
things that they're claiming is traumatic brain injury
19
as a result of this.
20
forces me to ask, is there anyone here who has a family
21
member who has sustained or makes claims of a traumatic
22
brain injury after an accident?
No one's gonna pretend
Mr. Garcia has his leg amputated below the
And both Mr. Edwards and Mr. Blanco are correct
I don't need to go into
Okay.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 63:
24
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
But not to
And so, one of the questions that
23
25
We
Mr. Ortiz?
Yes, sir.
I mean, I'm sorry, Ms. Ortiz.
Maricela.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
211
1
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 63:
2
MR. CHAVES:
3
Yes, sir.
And was it a family member
that?
4
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 63:
It is a family
5
member and it wasn't through an accident or anything
6
like that.
7
throughout the past three years we have been trying to
8
work with his attorney and the courts to get him some
9
sort of support and help.
But my brother had an aneurism and
He has not been released by
10
his doctors to go back to work.
11
tedious, kind of an overwhelming process for him and for
12
me, as his sister, to help support him and his family to
13
survive, and have ends meet and paying regular daily
14
bills and stuff.
15
family.
16
17
18
So it's been challenging for us as a
MR. CHAVES:
sir?
So it has been a
I understand.
Number 4.
Yes,
Number 4.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
Yes.
My nephew
19
was killed and my brother has permanent rods and iron in
20
his knees, ankles, and hips.
21
they had to go to the emergency side because they had a
22
flat tire and a box truck came and hit the -- when the
23
son was opening the trunk to get the tire and hit him
24
into the -- actually another van had parked in front to
25
help and he flew all the way and hit the van, broke his
They were parked on the --
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
212
1
neck and died.
2
MR. CHAVES:
3
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
4
And it crushed my
brother's hip and stuff.
5
6
Okay.
MR. CHAVES:
last one.
7
All right.
And let me get the
Number 79.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 79:
My teenage
8
nephew actually suffered a traumatic brain injury and is
9
still recuperating.
10
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
Now, in this particular
11
case, both Mr. Garcia and Ms. Gamez are claiming some
12
mild traumatic brain injury, and that's in dispute, the
13
medical -- there will be medical evidence from both
14
sides presenting whether they do or do not have
15
traumatic brain injury.
16
three of you is, can you set aside your personal
17
experience with traumatic brain injury that a member of
18
your family has and judge this case on the merits of
19
this case?
20
21
But the question I have for the
And I'm seeing a hesitation back there.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 63:
I would like to
say yes, sir, but I can't at this time.
22
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
23
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 63:
There's so many
24
mixed emotions about the things we're experiencing and
25
the injustice, I would say.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
213
1
MR. CHAVES:
No.
And Ms. Ortiz, I
2
certainly understand that.
I'm not too sure I could
3
either, so your -- just for the record, you're a juror
4
who does not feel you can set aside your bias against
5
and judge this case fairly because of a family member
6
who has traumatic brain injury; is that correct?
7
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 63:
8
MR. CHAVES:
9
Okay.
And you feel the same
way, Ms. Shea?
10
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 79:
11
MR. CHAVES:
12
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 79:
13
15
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 79:
16
MR. CHAVES:
You can set it aside.
Okay.
Correct.
And Mr. Hinojosa, can you set
it aside, the injury that you talked about?
18
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 4:
19
MR. CHAVES:
21
I don't -- I
could set it aside.
MR. CHAVES:
20
Shea.
Shea.
14
17
Yes, sir.
Okay.
Yeah.
Let me make some notes
real quick.
Now, I asked the question whether anyone
22
didn't like truck drivers as a general question.
23
ask a specific question.
24
in an accident with an 18-wheeler truck?
25
Number 47, 61, and 73.
Let me
Has anyone ever been involved
Okay.
Anyone?
Okay.
Mr. Horowitz, how long
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
214
1
ago was that?
2
3
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 37:
in an accident with a truck driver.
4
MR. CHAVES:
5
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 47:
6
MR. CHAVES:
7
that?
18
19
You called on
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 47:
How long ago was
Twelve years ago?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 47:
MR. CHAVES:
truck?
Okay.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 47:
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 47:
25
I was actually
-- I was in the truck, but I was stopped.
21
24
No, I was
Oh, you were operating the
MR. CHAVES:
23
And
operating the truck.
20
22
Okay.
were you injured as a result of that accident?
16
17
It was Mr. Dodson, I'm sorry.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 37:
MR. CHAVES:
14
15
No, that was me.
I'd say it was about, I would say, 12 years ago.
12
13
I'm sorry?
me.
10
11
Okay.
I apologize.
8
9
I was involved
All right.
I was hit by a
car that was coming from behind.
MR. CHAVES:
Okay, sir.
Number 61 and
that's Sandra Jackson.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 61:
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
About five years
215
1
ago, I was at a stoplight and an 18-wheeler didn't have
2
his signal light so I assumed he was going straight.
3
I turned left and he turned left and he turned into me.
4
MR. CHAVES:
5
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 61:
6
Okay.
And I wasn't
hurt, just my car.
7
8
MR. CHAVES:
All right, ma'am.
And I think
the last person was 73.
9
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 73:
I was parked in
10
a parking lot and I opened my door next to a truck.
11
took off and tore my door off.
12
MR. CHAVES:
13
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 73:
14
MR. CHAVES:
15
So
He
Okay.
And that was it.
Anything about that incident
that you'd bring into this lawsuit?
16
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 73:
17
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
No.
We talked about damages
18
a little earlier, and just like Mr. Blanco indicated
19
that there would be a question on liability, there will
20
be a question on damages.
21
into it a little bit more.
22
are gonna be able to present evidence on the damage
23
issues and to the extent of injuries that they're
24
claiming.
25
place an amount, a dollar amount in there if, in your
And I think the Court went
As I indicated, both sides
But at the end of the day, you'll be asked to
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
216
1
opinion, a dollar amount should go in there.
And the
2
plaintiff is gonna be asking for, apparently, tens of
3
millions of dollars.
4
number.
5
lawyers, will each of you promise me that you will not
6
do -- just because the lawyer is saying I want, 10
7
million or 15 or 20 million dollars, or one million
8
dollars doesn't mean that you should put 10 million, 20
9
or 15.
We will be suggesting another
But whatever those numbers are suggested by the
And just because a defense lawyer is saying, put
10
zero or put $5 -- or 50,000 or 500, whatever the numbers
11
are being suggested by the lawyers, we're there to guide
12
you.
13
believe the evidence supports, but at the end of the
14
day, it's gonna be your decision.
15
you, will each of you put the figure that you feel is
16
appropriate after the 12 of you have conferred with each
17
other and come to a consensus of what that number should
18
be?
19
my number, or anyone else's number, you need to make it
20
on what you believe that number should be.
21
everyone promise me to do that?
Hopefully, we will guide you based on what we
And my question to
And whether you agree with Mr. Blanco's number or
Will
22
(No audible or visible response.)
23
MR. CHAVES:
Okay.
And it could be what
24
the lawyers are suggesting or it could be less, or
25
somewhere in between, it could -- you know, it's just
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
217
1
totally in your discretion.
2
Anyone feel that they can't do that?
3
(No audible or visible response.)
4
MR. CHAVES:
All right.
I think everyone
5
is echoing the words, we want 12 fair and impartial
6
jurors.
7
what I really am looking for.
8
things in a juror.
9
honest.
And I think that's true.
But I'll tell you
I'm looking for three
Number one, I want a juror to be
I really do.
That sounds a little trite, but I
10
want them to be honest with themselves, honest with the
11
evidence, not what could have, what should have, what
12
maybe, but what did happen.
13
tough on the lawyers -- and I don't mean, mean.
14
don't mean tough on the parties.
15
I want them to examine the evidence, see -- see what the
16
evidence really is.
17
way they see it, to have the guts to call it the way
18
they see it.
19
happen in this case -- and I'm not suggesting that
20
anyone is gonna say, oh, please feel sorry for
21
Mr. Garcia.
22
give you a -- probably the number one instruction that
23
the Court gives you is do not let bias, prejudice or
24
sympathy play any part in your deliberation.
25
tell you, I -- everyone who has sustained a serious
I want them to be tough,
And I
What I mean by tough,
And then I want them to call it the
Because one of the things that's gonna
As a matter of fact, the Court is gonna
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
And let me
218
1
injury, you're gonna be sympathetic.
2
were asked questions like, how would you feel if you
3
couldn't go fishing?
4
ride a bike?
5
make you start feeling like, well, you know, gee, I know
6
how I'd feel, and you begin -- and of course, they'll do
7
that.
8
the facts and on the evidence.
10
How would you feel if you couldn't
And that sort of question is designed to
You cannot be sympathetic.
9
MR. BLANCO:
You gotta judge it on
Your Honor, I'm gonna object,
this is borderline --
11
THE COURT:
I'm going to ask you to move on
12
to actual questions, okay?
13
jury with regards to that exact same.
14
already mentioned that.
15
coldhearted facts.
16
17
20
21
I am going to instruct the
I think I've
I told them that they were
Let's move on.
MR. CHAVES:
Thank you, Your Honor.
THE COURT:
Coldhearted fact finders, I
should say.
MR. CHAVES:
Will each of you call it the
way you see it and not base your decision on sympathy?
22
(No audible or visible response.)
23
MR. CHAVES:
24
25
And
that's what I was saying --
18
19
And I think you
Okay.
Your Honor, I think I
-- how much time have I used up?
THE COURT:
You have used up an hour and
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
219
1
ten minutes.
2
All right.
I have a question from No. 20.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 20:
3
mentioned Jesse Ybarra earlier.
4
Jesse Ybarra.
5
6
You don't know if it's the
same one?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 20:
MR. CHAVES:
10
Is Mr. Ybarra 66 years old?
MR. EDWARDS:
Yeah, I think so.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 20:
13
MR. EDWARDS:
14
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 20:
MR. CHAVES:
That rides motorcycles?
Okay.
I don't think it's the
MR. EDWARDS:
I think he's younger than
that.
20
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 20:
21
MR. CHAVES:
22
25
Okay.
But I thank you for bringing
that up.
23
24
I don't know.
same one.
18
19
Right.
don't know.
16
17
And you're
talking about Jesse Ybarra?
12
15
No, I don't know
if it's the same one.
9
11
I have a brother named
I don't know if it's the same one.
MR. CHAVES:
7
8
Yes, you
I gave you back 50 minutes.
Is that what
you -THE COURT:
Well, we still have one more.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
I
220
1
MR. CHAVES:
2
THE COURT:
3
MR. CHAVES:
4
Oh, okay.
All right.
In that case, I pass the
witness -- I mean, I pass the jury.
5
THE COURT:
6
MR. WARREN:
All right.
Mr. Warren.
My name's Larry Warren.
It's
7
been so long since we started I almost forgot who I was.
8
Let's start off with a little bit of democracy here.
9
And I want to tell you, I'm going to give you guys a
10
vote.
You got two choices here.
11
a six page, single spaced outline on my voir dire of all
12
the topics and questions that I'd love to cover with you
13
guys.
14
well, we've going since 10:00 this morning.
15
choice one that you have.
But there's page 6.
16
First of all, I've got
We've been going for --
Choice two is what I have narrowed it down
17
to.
18
two.
19
go through choice A, choice number one?
20
One glutton for punishment, maybe two.
21
if you want me to just go through choice two?
So, I'm hearing a few clapping kind of for choice
But let's see, raise your hand if you want me to
22
25
We have one.
Raise your hand
(A show of hands.)
23
24
That's
MR. WARREN:
gonna do.
All right.
That's what we're
See how easy this is?
All right.
Judge Watts mentioned about the
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
221
1
jury process and she went through the history of it a
2
little bit.
3
biblical times.
4
who pleads his case first seems right until his
5
neighbors come and examine him.
And actually, the history does go back to
And in Proverbs 18:17 it states:
He
6
Folks, you are the neighbors.
The 12 or 14
7
of you who will get to sit in that box are the neighbors
8
who have come to judge the conduct of each of the
9
parties in this case.
Are each of you willing to be
10
fair and impartial in the aspect of judging your
11
neighbors in this process?
12
comfortable being in the position of judging the conduct
13
of your neighbors?
14
uncomfortable with the idea of judging your neighbor?
15
Raise your hand if you're uncomfortable about it.
16
17
Can each of you feel
Is there anyone who is completely
All right.
I see one hand and that is
Juror No. 30?
18
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 21:
19
MR. WARREN:
20
Can you tell me just briefly what is the
21.
21.
All right.
21
uncomforted?
Is it a religious sense or what is the
22
uncomfort that you would have in it?
23
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 21:
24
religious and I just don't want to be on their spot.
25
just don't want to be judged myself.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Yes, some is
I
222
1
2
MR. WARREN:
are you talking about any of the parties?
3
4
When you say "in their spot"
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 21:
parties.
5
MR. WARREN:
Any of the parties.
6
don't want to be judged yourself.
7
you, sir.
All right.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
earlier.
You just
Thank
54, Yes, sir?
8
9
Any of the
I brought it up
In my experience or my definition of a peer,
10
these people aren't my peers.
11
I know my neighbors.
12
they're being -- in the jury system, they were called "a
13
jury of your peers."
14
your character.
15
are so I wouldn't be a fair peer.
16
They're not my neighbors.
But I don't know them.
But if
A peer is someone who knows of
You know, I don't know who these people
MR. WARREN:
And your problem or your
17
concern with it is that you don't know them, therefore,
18
you don't feel like you're one of the peers?
19
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 54:
Right.
20
my opinion on what the law says what a peer is.
21
the law's definition of a peer.
22
23
24
25
MR. WARREN:
Anyone else?
All right.
16, yes, sir.
I base
That's
Thank you, sir.
Mr. Miller.
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
In previous
questions by Mr. Edwards, we were discussing if we had a
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
223
1
bias against anything.
So is your question asking do we
2
have a bias, can we sit and simply put our bias aside?
3
MR. WARREN:
Not exactly.
4
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 16:
5
MR. WARREN:
Okay.
And I know that several of you
6
have discussed various beliefs or positions that you've
7
had and I don't want to rehash all of that.
8
simply the process of being asked to come in and sit in
9
judgment of conduct.
Is there anyone who has a problem
10
simply with that process in and of itself?
11
yes, ma'am.
12
13
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 7:
MR. WARREN:
15
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 7:
16
MR. WARREN:
You don't feel comfortable?
Okay.
No.
Number 7 and anyone
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 67:
I have a
question.
20
MR. WARREN:
21
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 67:
22
Yeah, I don't
else?
18
19
Number 7,
feel comfortable doing that here.
14
17
It's just
Number 67.
Yeah.
She's
suing Jennings, Dillon and Garcia?
23
MR. WARREN:
Yes.
24
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 67:
25
MR. WARREN:
Okay.
That's just a question, right?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
224
1
2
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 67:
Yeah, that just
seems -- whatever.
3
MR. WARREN:
I'm sure if you're on the jury
4
you'll get to hear a whole lot more about it.
5
far as sitting on a jury and considering judgment in the
6
case, do you have any problem with that?
7
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 67:
8
MR. WARREN:
9
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 67:
10
like the spotlight.
11
I don't know.
You don't know?
I'm sorry.
MR. WARREN:
But as
Okay.
I'm sorry, it's
I don't know yet.
I understand.
You
12
would be willing to wait and hear all the evidence
13
before making your mind up on any aspect in this case?
14
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 67:
15
MR. WARREN:
Possibly.
16
MR. BLANCO:
Mr. Warren.
17
MR. WARREN:
Yes.
18
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 3:
Possibly.
Okay.
Yes, No. 3.
I'm not
19
comfortable judging others and I'm very more sympathetic
20
that I might be bias or something like that.
21
22
MR. WARREN:
You're -- you feel sympathetic
and biased in what respect?
23
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 3:
I'm more
24
sympathetic when I see -- I mean, if I see the evidence
25
or whatever.
I really don't -- I'm not comfortable.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
225
1
2
MR. WARREN:
Is your concern that you would
be more sympathetic when you see that somebody --
3
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 3:
4
MR. WARREN:
5
Exactly.
-- who's had a true and
genuine injury?
6
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 3:
7
MR. WARREN:
Uh-huh.
All right.
Because there are
8
some true and genuine injuries here.
We do have a below
9
the knee amputation for Mr. Garcia's left leg.
We do
10
have the amputation of his finger.
We do have a
11
concussion, at least, for Ms. Gamez.
12
gonna be real injuries that are discussed.
13
feeling, Sister, in regard to the injuries, cause you to
14
feel that -- and the sympathy that you would have --
15
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 3:
16
MR. WARREN:
17
19
MR. WARREN:
24
25
Yes, sir.
-- to my client, Dillon
Transport and to Mr. Jennings?
21
23
Yes.
you to feel that you couldn't be fair and impartial -PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 3:
22
Does your
-- cause you to feel -- cause
18
20
And so there are
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 3:
I might be.
I
might be.
MR. WARREN:
You would be leaning towards
the plaintiffs?
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 3:
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Towards the --
226
1
exactly.
2
MR. WARREN:
All right.
And is that
3
something that you don't feel you could set aside and
4
just judge the conduct of the parties without
5
considering that sympathy?
6
7
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 3:
I
don't think I can.
8
9
I don't know.
MR. WARREN:
You would have a hard time
doing that?
10
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 3:
11
MR. WARREN:
Okay.
Yes, sir.
And let's see, anyone
12
else feel the same way that the Sister feels on
13
sympathy, that you couldn't take -- you could not follow
14
the Judge's instruction about bias or prejudice and
15
sympathy?
16
simple.
17
sympathy to play any role in your decision in your
18
deliberation.
19
not set aside what are natural feelings of sympathy, for
20
someone who's been injured, and make your decision
21
solely upon the evidence in the case and not let that
22
sympathy burden you or cause you trouble?
23
than the Sister, just raise your hand, and it's okay.
And I believe the instruction will read very
You are not to allow bias, prejudice, or
So anyone other than the Sister who could
Anyone other
24
(No audible or visible response.)
25
MR. WARREN:
I see no other hands.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Thank
227
1
you, Sister.
2
One of the allegations in this case --
3
generally, it's a negligence case.
Who failed to use
4
ordinary care.
5
that somebody acted negligently on this occasion.
6
the question is, you know, who failed to use ordinary
7
care on the occasion of this accident?
8
against my client, Dillon Transport, is that they
9
negligently trained or negligently supervised our
It's an accident, but the allegation is
10
employee, our driver, Kenneth Jennings.
11
quick question or two.
12
involved in a role of training people?
13
And
An allegation
So I have a
How many of you have been
(A show of hands.)
14
MR. WARREN:
Okay.
A lot of hands raised.
15
Okay.
And I believe there was one juror in the back
16
that was a teacher and right here, Mr. Amador, is that
17
right?
18
19
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 32:
That's part of
the job.
20
MR. WARREN:
Part of the job.
Okay.
All
21
right.
Now, I saw a lot of hands and I'm not gonna go
22
through all the numbers there, but I want to ask you
23
this question:
24
you just do enough training, if you just do enough
25
supervision, that you can eliminate all accidents?
Does anyone on the panel feel that if
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
I
228
1
hear some chuckling, but there are people that believe
2
that.
3
that if you just do enough training, one more hour of
4
training, one more course work, one extra minute of
5
supervision, we could avoid all accidents?
6
hand if you feel that way.
I just need to see is there are anyone that feels
Raise your
7
(No audible or visible response.)
8
MR. WARREN:
9
All right.
Now, in addition
to the claim of negligent training, negligent super --
10
let me back up, first of all.
We will tell you, through
11
the course of the trial, that Kenneth Jennings was our
12
driver.
13
employment for us, we stand firmly behind him, and we
14
are completely in support of Kenneth Jennings.
15
our -- he is our driver at the time of this accident,
16
and we support him fully.
17
allegations against us, as I mentioned, this negligent
18
supervision, negligent training.
19
claim that we, as a company, acted grossly negligent,
20
that we acted with conscious indifference in our
21
training and our supervision, that we acted with
22
reckless disregard about the safety and welfare of our
23
training and other people and supervision.
24
heard earlier, when Mr. Chaves was talking about the
25
burden of proof and that the plaintiffs have the burden
He was in the course and scope of his
He is
There are independent
But there's also a
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
So, you
229
1
of proving their case.
And they have -- they have the
2
burden of proving that Mr. Jennings was negligent and
3
they have to prove that by what's called the
4
preponderance of the evidence, the greater weight of the
5
believable evidence.
6
client was negligent in its supervision, negligent in
7
his training, and they have to prove that by the
8
preponderance of the evidence, that greater weight of
9
evidence.
They also have to prove that my
And on the gross negligence claim, they have
10
to prove that my client was grossly negligence --
11
negligent by what's called the standard, clear and
12
convincing evidence.
13
Is there anyone on this panel that feels
14
that it is unfair that the plaintiffs have that burden
15
of proving each one of the elements or the claims that
16
they've raised?
17
plaintiffs carry forth that burden, raise your hand?
Anyone have a problem with making the
18
(No audible or visible response.)
19
MR. WARREN:
All right.
20
I'm going to check my notes.
21
bottom of it.
22
I see no hands.
I think I'm at the very
Ah, one last question.
If you are selected and placed on this
23
jury, will you be fair and impartial towards all the
24
parties in this case?
25
their questions earlier in response to specific
And I know that some have raised
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
230
1
questions.
This question is designed for anyone who did
2
not raise your hand earlier.
3
the panel who says they could not be fair and impartial
4
if they were impaneled, for whatever reason, just raise
5
your hand?
6
12, and 5 and 16.
7
raised their hand before this moment.
All right.
Is there anyone else on
We've already heard from 4 and
I'm talking about others who hadn't
8
(No audible or visible response.)
9
MR. WARREN:
10
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 15:
THE COURT:
All right.
Ladies and
gentlemen --
15
MR. WARREN:
16
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 15:
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
I have a
question.
13
14
With that, I'm
gonna sit down, and thank you very much for your time.
11
12
All right.
15 had a question.
Yes, sir.
Is your client
still employed with y'all?
MR. WARREN:
He, of his own accord, has
gone to another company.
MR. EDWARDS:
And Judge -- can we have a
quick side-bar?
THE COURT:
Sure.
Hold on just a moment.
(Discussion at the bench, off the record.)
MR. WARREN:
All right.
promise that I was done.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
I violated my
231
1
Ms. Torres, you raised your hand at the
2
very end.
I think you were one that had not responded
3
earlier about, that you don't think you could be fair
4
and impartial.
5
of that belief at this stage?
6
Can you tell us what it is that has you
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 5:
I just have a
7
problem with Mr. Edwards' client suing everybody.
8
just don't --
9
MR. WARREN:
Okay.
I
Is it a situation where
10
you could set aside your personal feelings about that
11
and listen purely to the evidence that is introduced to
12
you during the course of the trial, both the written
13
evidence and the verbal testimony, follow the Court's
14
instructions, and render a judgment based or a verdict
15
based solely upon the evidence and the written
16
instructions from the Court?
17
do that?
Do you feel like you could
18
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 5:
19
MR. WARREN:
Yes.
And in the process, exercise
20
fair and impartial judgment based on the evidence and
21
the instructions of the Court?
22
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 5:
23
MR. WARREN:
24
THE COURT:
25
Yes.
Thank you, Ms. Torres.
All right.
Ladies and
gentlemen, now, let me tell you what's going to happen.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
232
1
You're gonna get a break and it's gonna be longer than
2
you want.
3
have to do.
4
we call, challenges for cause.
5
of the attorneys or each of the sides get to, in effect,
6
bring to my attention what they perceive to be bias or
7
prejudice, or the fact that somebody is not suitable to
8
sit in this case.
9
either sustain or I deny that objection.
But at this point, we have certain things we
And outside your presence, we will do what
And that means that each
I make decisions at that point.
I
Once I have
10
dealt with all the challenges for cause, all the
11
attorneys go into their respective corners and then they
12
have strikes, peremptory strikes.
13
says, they don't have to give a reason.
14
involved in that at all, they can strike anybody for
15
whatever reason they have.
16
And as Mr. Chaves
I'm not
Once I have that, my clerk comes down here
17
and then we, in effect, find the first name that doesn't
18
have an X through them and that's Juror No. 1.
19
gonna take us, I want to say 20 minutes, but I'm a
20
perpetual optimist, probably closer to 30.
21
excused at this time.
22
when you come back, we'll let you know when you can come
23
into the courtroom.
24
possible so you can be seated and then those cards need
25
to go to Mr. Gallegos, okay?
It's
So you are
Remember the instructions.
And
We'll let you in as soon as
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
233
1
2
All right.
At this time, you're excused
from the courtroom.
3
(Jury panel exits courtroom.)
4
THE COURT:
All right.
Let's begin.
5
Challenges for cause.
Now please be reminded we already
6
have seven agreed upon challenges for cause.
7
way that I like to do it -- and it works out just fine
8
-- is I will say, I'll entertain any challenges for
9
cause from 1 through 10.
Now, the
And I don't care who speaks up
10
first, because I have been taking copious notes and have
11
a pretty good idea who is going to be challenged and
12
what will be granted and maybe not.
13
MR. CHAVES:
14
MR. EDWARDS:
15
MR. CHAVES:
16
set aside sympathy.
THE COURT:
18
MR. EDWARDS:
19
MR. CHAVES:
20
MR. EDWARDS:
21
THE COURT:
25
Do you want to go ahead?
-- No. 3, said she could not
Okay.
Number 3.
I agree.
Do you agree?
Yes.
Somebody should have explained
to her the difference between sympathy and empathy.
23
24
Well, I've got --
And she would --
17
22
1 through 10.
MR. CHAVES:
And then No. 6, Ms. Gamez is
her aunt.
MR. EDWARDS:
Oh, yeah, Yeah.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
234
1
2
THE COURT:
Yes.
6 is
granted as well.
3
MR. EDWARDS:
4
MR. CHAVES:
5
3 is granted.
Anything else?
I think that's it on 1 through
10.
6
THE COURT:
7
MR. EDWARDS:
8
THE COURT:
9
MR. WARREN:
Didn't even allow me to argue.
10
MR. CHAVES:
That was quick, Judge.
11
14
I've got No. 4.
Granted.
That
was quick.
12
13
Challenges for cause?
THE COURT:
I have him on a number of
occasions.
MR. EDWARDS:
I've got No. 5.
I know that
15
Mr. Warren asked a very nice question at the end of
16
which she said, yes.
17
she held up her card at the very end and said, "I have a
18
problem with Mr. Edwards' client coming in here and
19
suing everybody."
20
21
22
23
24
25
But she clearly had a problem when
MR. WARREN:
She did state, however, that
she could set it aside, she could be fair and impartial.
THE COURT:
your strikes on No. 5.
You're gonna have to use one of
Saved by the last line.
MR. BLANCO:
Well, Your Honor, even though
the words were spoken, her facial expressions, her --
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
235
1
2
her demeanor.
THE COURT:
She had an ample opportunity
3
during the entire voir dire to speak up.
I think she
4
was exhausted, I think she wants out of here.
5
But she had ample opportunity to express it because that
6
question about being able to be fair has been asked on a
7
number of occasions.
8
rehabilitated, she did not express an ingrained bias or
9
prejudice such as some of the others have.
Okay.
So I am saying, I think if she was
10
MR. EDWARDS:
11
THE COURT:
That's granted as well.
12
All right.
11 through 20.
13
MR. EDWARDS:
14
THE COURT:
15
MR. CHAVES:
16
MR. EDWARDS:
17
THE COURT:
18
pretty apparent.
I've also got No. 9.
I've got 12, she said -Granted.
Okay.
I've got 16.
I would say that that was
Granted.
19
MR. EDWARDS:
That's it on that row.
20
THE COURT:
21
MR. WARREN:
22
THE COURT:
23
21 through 30, please.
24
MR. EDWARDS:
25
MR. CHAVES:
Anything from the defense side?
I don't have any in the -That was our best row.
I've got 21.
I just don't remember what the
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
236
1
basis of that challenge was.
2
THE COURT:
He was the young man sitting
3
over on the second row and he had two bases that he --
4
he said he -- I can't -- well, I'd have to look at my
5
notes, but he came up twice.
6
7
MR. EDWARDS:
couldn't be fair.
8
9
10
Yeah, early on he said he
THE COURT:
Yeah, he said he had no
personal experiences, but he had -- he had problems with
personal injury lawsuits.
11
MR. WARREN:
12
THE COURT:
I think that was -And remember he's the one that
13
had the friend that I think called one of the known
14
attorneys in town.
15
16
MR. WARREN:
Right.
Who said he didn't get
help because it wasn't a big dollar case.
17
THE COURT:
And then he also came up again
18
-- anyway, I've granted that challenge unless you would
19
like to argue against that.
20
came up he said he had medical knowledge.
21
MR. CHAVES:
22
THE COURT:
23
MR. CHAVES:
24
THE COURT:
25
He -- the only time he ever
So 21 is granted?
It is.
Okay.
Based on bias.
might add.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Stated bias, I
237
1
All right.
2
MR. CHAVES:
3
MR. EDWARDS:
4
THE COURT:
5
31 through 40.
6
MR. CHAVES:
7
MR. EDWARDS:
8
THE COURT:
10
MR. CHAVES:
THE COURT:
I agree.
Challenge 33.
I don't have any note on
Knows Theresa Gamez.
She's best friends.
She
Yeah, I will grant that as bias
and prejudice.
14
MR. EDWARDS:
15
THE COURT:
16
MR. CHAVES:
17
MR. EDWARDS:
18
Nothing on that row.
cannot --
12
13
No, Your Honor.
that.
9
11
Any others?
somewhere else.
Oh, was that 33?
Yes, 33.
That's correct.
Okay.
I must have had that
Anything else from you, Doug?
19
MR. CHAVES:
20
THE COURT:
Nothing else.
Her daughter was best friends
21
with Ms. Gamez or she is best friends with Ms. Gamez's
22
daughter.
23
24
25
MR. EDWARDS:
If everybody else has got it,
I'm not gonna argue about it.
THE COURT:
Okay.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
238
1
2
MR. EDWARDS:
I think I put it in the wrong
spot.
3
THE COURT:
4
MR. EDWARDS:
Any others?
I've got 32.
He said the
5
majority of the motorcycle riders here in Corpus are
6
dangerous.
7
8
MR. WARREN:
I thought you stipulated to
MR. CHAVES:
But he also said he would
that.
9
10
listen to the evidence on -- in this case and judge the
11
evidence on this case.
12
MR. EDWARDS:
13
know that I won't teach on the medical.
14
15
THE COURT:
Oh, that was the one I had the
most concern about.
16
MR. EDWARDS:
17
THE COURT:
18
He also said that I don't
Yeah.
He pretty well said he was
gonna serve as an expert witness.
19
MR. EDWARDS:
20
THE COURT:
Yes.
All right.
I'm gonna grant 32.
21
Even after I explained the difference between, and the
22
line, he was pretty apparent he didn't think he could do
23
it.
24
25
MR. EDWARDS:
I've got 34, he's -- this
person said that even though there's no allegations
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
239
1
against Theresa, he's still gonna go back in the jury
2
deliberation and say that she -- she can be responsible
3
for getting on the motorcycle, and he will reduce the
4
damages by percentages.
5
THE COURT:
6
MR. EDWARDS:
7
THE COURT:
8
MR. WARREN:
9
MR. EDWARDS:
apparently.
THE COURT:
13
MR. WARREN:
15
Granted.
All right.
Could you explain
You can go ask my father
And I'm -- that does me on that row.
12
14
Number 37, Mr. Horowitz.
the reasoning, Judge?
10
11
Granted.
Anything further on that?
Not on the 30's, I don't
believe.
THE COURT:
All right.
I think -- I have a
16
funny feeling we're almost there.
17
50 and I think that we should have our jury by then.
18
MR. EDWARDS:
Let's go 41 through
I've got 41.
She said that
19
-- Ms. Canales said that her feelings against personal
20
injury lawsuits might play a part in her --
21
THE COURT:
22
MR. EDWARDS:
23
THE COURT:
24
MR. EDWARDS:
25
Yes.
-- considerations.
Granted.
42, he was talking about his
cousin is a police officer, but then he just came out
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
240
1
and said, I've got a bias for the Defendant.
2
3
THE COURT:
Clear.
42 is granted.
4
5
Yeah, he sure did, didn't he?
MR. EDWARDS:
And I've got 47, Mr. Dodson.
Oh, he's the one with the family farm truck companies.
6
THE COURT:
7
MR. EDWARDS:
8
THE COURT:
9
MR. EDWARDS:
Yes.
And he had a stated bias.
Yeah.
Granted.
And 48, a couple of things on
10
her, one was, she indicated that she had feelings
11
against personal injury lawsuits that would affect her.
12
And I think she was one that testified or that said --
13
THE COURT:
14
MR. EDWARDS:
15
THE COURT:
16
MR. EDWARDS:
18
THE COURT:
MR. EDWARDS:
21
THE COURT:
22
MR. CHAVES:
Yes.
All right.
I'm sorry, that was
48.
48.
And we did want 46 struck,
Your Honor.
24
25
-- no mental anguish, even if
40 --
20
23
Yes.
instructed.
17
19
No pain and suffering --
THE COURT:
one.
All right.
Let me look at that
On what basis?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
241
1
2
MR. CHAVES:
friend.
3
THE COURT:
4
MR. EDWARDS:
5
THE COURT:
6
MR. EDWARDS:
7
THE COURT:
Yeah, that's a good one.
Granted.
Oh, and I just found a note
Isn't that unusual to have a
panel that has best friends?
10
11
Absolutely.
--
8
9
She was the daughter's best
MR. WARREN:
All right.
I had a cousin on the last
panel who said he'd be fair and impartial all the way.
12
THE COURT:
All right.
MR. SMITH:
Can we back up a little bit,
16
THE COURT:
Uh-huh.
17
MR. SMITH:
On 38, I've got a note here
13
them.
14
15
Let me go through
please?
18
that lawsuits are just people out to make money and most
19
tellingly, he agrees with 37, who we've all been
20
listening to all day.
21
THE COURT:
Oh, that's right.
22
MR. SMITH:
And he says, not fair, cannot
23
put aside the -- his feelings, and he was in a wreck.
24
think 38 should go out for cause and I so move the
25
Court.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
I
242
1
2
THE COURT:
count it up.
Granted.
All right.
We've got our jury.
3
MR. CHAVES:
4
THE COURT:
Let me
Without 58 and 64.
I'm sorry?
Our strike line initially --
5
from what I can see, is going to be -- let's count it up
6
one more time.
7
to make sure you have them.
Let me go through the numbers with you
8
MR. CHAVES:
9
THE COURT:
Okay.
Yes, ma'am.
All right.
I'm including the
10
ones we previously did for cause and the ones that I
11
have granted right now.
12
13
MR. EDWARDS:
grab a highlighter real quick.
14
THE COURT:
15
MR. WARREN:
16
Will you allow me -- let me
You bet.
You're gonna tell us who's
been struck or who's left?
Struck?
17
THE COURT:
Struck.
18
MR. WARREN:
19
THE COURT:
20
MR. CHAVES:
21.
21
MR. WARREN:
21.
22
THE COURT:
All right.
3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 16, 25, 26.
I'm sorry.
Let me back up.
Yes, I granted 21.
23
All right.
3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 16, 21,
24
25, 26, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 46, 47,
25
48.
So far.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
243
1
MR. CHAVES:
2
THE COURT:
3
And what does that leave us?
23 challenges for cause.
all have two strikes -- I mean, excuse me --
4
MR. WARREN:
5
THE COURT:
6
MR. WARREN:
7
THE COURT:
8
MR. CHAVES:
9
THE COURT:
10
MR. CHAVES:
11
THE COURT:
12
MR. CHAVES:
13
MR. EDWARDS:
14
THE COURT:
Better use them carefully.
And -Through Juror 49 then.
It's through Juror -We're gonna pick 12 jurors.
-- wait a minute, 23 strikes.
I'm sorry?
There are 23 strikes granted.
Yes.
Through 40 -48.
Okay.
And then we need --
15
you're gonna take 12 more, so that's 35.
16
on the jury.
17
including 48.
So that's 47.
MR. WARREN:
19
gonna have two alternates is what I --
20
THE COURT:
21
MR. WARREN:
22
THE COURT:
And I need 12
So our strike line is 40,
18
23
You
I'd agree.
I thought you were
I am.
Okay.
But you have to make your
strikes --
24
MR. WARREN:
25
THE COURT:
I'm with you.
-- In that -- through line 48,
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
244
1
including 48.
2
MR. WARREN:
3
THE COURT:
Okay.
And after that, then you will
4
each side have one additional strike for us to get two
5
alternates.
6
we need to do a few more -- you get two strikes, so the
7
jurors are gonna be through 50 -- alternates are 49
8
through 52.
9
to 52?
So let me see if we can do that.
Is there any challenges for cause from 49
10
MR. EDWARDS:
11
MR. CHAVES:
12
MR. EDWARDS:
14
THE COURT:
that.
MR. EDWARDS:
17
THE COURT:
18
MR. EDWARDS:
19
THE COURT:
20
MR. EDWARDS:
THE COURT:
23
MR. EDWARDS:
25
49 and 50, I'm okay.
That's correct.
I do not have
On 51, if -I have 52.
51 said that -I have 53.
-- he would reduce damages by
the percentage.
22
24
I think the answer is no to 49
Would you refresh my memory on 51?
16
21
I've got one for 51.
and 50.
13
15
I think
Oh, that's right.
And he also said -- he talked
-- I think it was -- that's my only legible note.
MR. BLANCO:
He would --
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
245
1
MR. EDWARDS:
And I think he may have said
2
something about motorcycles, but I don't have a legible
3
note on it.
4
5
MR. WARREN:
but in regard to that, he would be fair.
6
7
MR. EDWARDS:
THE COURT:
MR. WARREN:
THE COURT:
MS. BELTRAN:
15
THE COURT:
17
I did not have that he would
I don't have his number down on
anything.
14
16
I'm not
reduce damages.
12
13
I'm not seeing that.
saying it didn't happen.
10
11
But he did say that he would
reduce damages by a percentage.
8
9
He said he was a bicyclist,
I have 51.
You have 51?
And again, please
state it on the record what the challenge for cause is.
MR. EDWARDS:
Come now, plaintiffs, and
18
challenge for cause, Juror No. 51, as he said that he
19
would reduce the damages by the percentage of
20
responsibility even -- even if the Court were to
21
instruct not to do that.
22
MR. SMITH:
23
MR. WARREN:
Join.
And Your Honor, my notes don't
24
indicate that.
I had that he would -- he was a
25
bicyclist, when he was being questioned about
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
246
1
motorcyclists, but that he would be fair.
2
THE COURT:
I don't --
There were several who after I
3
made the explanation, there were three of them that
4
continued to say that they would reduce the damages
5
regardless of the instruction.
6
MR. BLANCO:
7
THE COURT:
8
MR. BLANCO:
9
Number 16.
One was 16.
Number 4 was the other and
No. 51 was the other one.
10
THE COURT:
11
51.
12
sure.
Okay.
There were three of them.
Then I'm going to grant
It was 4 and 16 for
Mr. Ford is -- off the record.
13
(Discussion off the record.)
14
MR. EDWARDS:
15
THE COURT:
So do we need to go -Yes, we do.
With that strike,
16
we need to look at now -- is there any challenge on 52?
17
No.
53?
18
MR. EDWARDS:
19
MR. WARREN:
20
MS. BELTRAN:
21
THE COURT:
22
MR. CHAVES:
We agreed to 53?
23
MR. WARREN:
He was already excused by
24
agreement earlier.
25
but he was.
53 I think is already gone.
He's already gone.
Yeah, we already agreed.
And 54?
I think he -- I can't remember why,
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
247
1
2
THE COURT:
He was the one, the last one
that we interviewed.
3
MR. WARREN:
4
THE COURT:
Oh, he had the cruise.
He had the cruise, the paid
5
cruise.
And I forgot to write that down.
6
again.
7
the jury.
8
cause, 12 strikes is 35, plus 12 on the jury is 47 is
9
the strike line.
23 challenges for cause, 12 strikes is 35, plus
Now I'm getting to 47.
MR. EDWARDS:
11
THE COURT:
12
MS. BELTRAN:
THE COURT:
It's not -- huh?
It's 24 now, Judge.
It was
I didn't count that.
53 is
beyond.
16
17
That doesn't --
23 before.
14
15
23 challenges for
I mean, make --
10
13
Let me count
MR. CHAVES:
Don't if we go to 45 that
takes care of the 12?
18
THE COURT:
Yeah.
Let's make sure.
If the
19
-- despite the fact that the strike line is 47 or 48,
20
it's -- they're still struck, 47 and 48 are still
21
struck.
22
MR. CHAVES:
23
THE COURT:
24
25
Sure.
So literally -- let's make
sure.
MR. CHAVES:
I count 24 jurors up through
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
248
1
45.
2
3
THE COURT:
strike line is 45.
4
5
MR. EDWARDS:
45, it does.
THE COURT:
7
MR. EDWARDS:
9
THE COURT:
MR. EDWARDS:
11
MR. CHAVES:
12
THE COURT:
13
MR. EDWARDS:
14
THE COURT:
16
At
Yes.
Right?
And that would be 49,
50.
10
15
Here's what happens, yes.
For the alternates, we need four more?
6
8
There's 25 jurors and the
52.
52.
And we challenged 54.
And 54 is granted.
I believe it's No. 55.
Okay.
Does everybody
understand where the strike lines are?
MR. EDWARDS:
Okay.
And in the first six,
17
if I hear what you're saying, the first six are to be
18
done 45 and earlier?
19
THE COURT:
20
MR. CHAVES:
21
THE COURT:
That's correct.
And -- well --
That's true.
That's true.
And then you each
22
have an additional strike from Juror 49 through 55,
23
because you need to have four to leave two.
24
MR. CHAVES:
25
THE COURT:
Correct.
One strike each side, four left
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
249
1
-- I mean, two left.
2
MR. CHAVES:
3
THE COURT:
4
Got it.
Everybody got it?
Strike line
is 44.
5
MR. EDWARDS:
6
THE COURT:
7
MR. EDWARDS:
8
THE COURT:
9
All right.
44?
44 not 45.
Really?
Yep.
Add it all up.
I want to
make sure.
10
MR. EDWARDS:
11
THE COURT:
Can we -44 is the strike including 44.
12
So that means that your alternates are gonna be either
13
45 -- you're gonna strike 1, 45, 49, 50 and 52.
14
MR. EDWARDS:
All right.
Can I just real
15
quick -- can we just real quick go through the ones that
16
are still there?
17
THE COURT:
Okay.
The ones that are still
18
there.
1, 2, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20,
19
22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 39, 43 and 44.
20
24 possibilities for our jury.
21
MR. EDWARDS:
22
THE COURT:
23
Okay.
Your strikes for your
alternates have to be either 45, 49, 50, and 52.
24
MR. CHAVES:
25
THE COURT:
That's fine, Judge.
Okay.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
That's
250
1
2
MR. CHAVES:
May we excused to do our
strikes?
3
THE COURT:
You may.
4
(Attorneys prepare strikes.)
5
THE COURT:
All right.
Ladies and
6
gentlemen of the jury, let me explain what has been
7
going on.
8
challenges for cause.
9
for cause, I granted 23 challenges for cause.
We conducted our hearing with regards to
Just so you're aware, challenges
Each side
10
then, in effect, went into their respective rooms and
11
they made their strikes.
12
Let me introduce you right now to Subronze
13
Lucas.
He is my clerk of the -- he's the clerk of the
14
117th.
He has three lists in front of him.
15
those lists include my list, which has all the strikes
16
for cause.
17
includes the plaintiff's list.
18
he lines up all three lists at the same distance and the
19
first juror that's gonna serve in this jury is the one
20
that has not one strike through the names.
21
them up and the first name that has no strike is Juror
22
No. 1.
23
then we went on to do strikes for alternates.
24
is granted one additional strike for alternates.
25
that is what Mr. Lucas is working on right now is the
It includes the defense list.
And that --
And it
And like in the old way,
Continued down, Juror No. 2.
So he lines
We have 12.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
And
Each side
And so
251
1
final jury list.
2
I will -- once I receive it from Mr. Lucas,
3
I will call out the names of the 12 that will serve as
4
the jurors in this case and as the two alternates.
5
asking all of you to stay seated until everyone has
6
filled these chairs so that I know that no mistake has
7
been made and we have all of our folks here.
8
9
I'm
I want to thank you, number one, for
spending the day for us.
It's a long day.
And it is a
10
long day for you and I can assure you it's a long day
11
for everyone in the room.
12
which we come to a jury based, as far as the -- the
13
efforts of all of us of that we regard as fair and
14
impartial and ready to serve at this time.
15
But it is the process by
The County is going to send a very small
16
token of their appreciation for the days that you spent
17
with us.
18
to the courthouse is called a $10 day and that is paid
19
by the County.
20
which is today, that becomes a $40 day, and every day
21
that the 12, plus the alternates will serve, will be an
22
additional $40.
23
and the effort that you have put in.
24
25
So you will know, the first day that you come
And then, the next time you show up
It in no way is exchange for the time
But I do want to tell you a little bit of
history while he's finishing that up.
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
It used to be
252
1
that the County simply did -- paid what they were gonna
2
pay.
Bexar County is very tight.
3
day.
Okay.
4
obvious to the Texas legislator -- legislators, that
5
jurors, especially in the big metropolitan areas where
6
they had to pay for parking in San Antonio and Austin,
7
Houston and Dallas, that they were paying out more for
8
parking than they literally were getting in exchange for
9
their jury pay.
We're big.
They only pay $6 a
We pay $10.
And it became
Because around those areas, as you
10
know, you're paying at least $10 to $15 a day just to
11
park your car.
12
decided that they would subsidize the counties to
13
increase the jury pay.
14
amount, which they ordinarily do, then the legislature
15
steps in and pays the difference.
16
of the second day and the County pays 10.
17
everything else, they give and they take away.
18
originally, it was a $40 day.
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at $30.
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tight, so it went back down to a $28 day.
21
was put into the law to gradually increase it back up to
22
what we call the $40 day.
23
here on Monday, don't take anybody with you, because you
24
can't -- there's not enough to spend it on two people.
25
But you're gonna have a little bonus, but like
So the legislators got involved and they
And the county pays the first
So the State pays 30
Well, like
So
They were subsidizing it
And then they decided their budget was too
And then it
I always say, if you're only
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everything else, you're gonna get an opportunity to send
2
it back.
3
community and these are especially the CASA volunteers
4
that work with our children, and child development, et
5
cetera, et cetera.
6
you can send it back.
7
stay in the courtroom until we have our jury in the box.
8
We have certain very definite needs in our
And so if you -- you can spend it or
But I'm gonna ask everybody to
Those of you who are selected, there is a
9
adjournment in your future as well and that will be
10
after I have sworn you in and I have given you some
11
very, very basic instructions for tomorrow.
12
Mr. Gallegos has the excuses that you -- if
13
you want to present those to your employers.
14
give him an opportunity to be outside.
15
down so that he can get those excuses to you while you,
16
in effect, go to the elevators.
17
18
All right.
It's just
Don't run him
Mr. Lucas, where are we?
On
the alternates I can see.
19
(Pause in proceedings.)
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THE COURT:
All right.
As your name is
21
called, if you will come forward, and Mr. Gallegos will
22
direct you to the seat that you will be occupying.
23
Sheila Jenkins, please.
Guadalupe Vasquez,
24
Vivian Brown, Carolyn Molina, Estanislao Ybarra,
25
Raul Palacios, Jr., Ismael Sanchez, Lori Edwards,
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Christine Sherry, David Livas, Sr., Diane Bailey,
2
Gonzalo Reyes.
3
Alternate No. 2 is Richard Self.
4
occupied.
5
Alternate No. 1 is Amanda Rodriguez, and
And my chairs are
So Mr. Gallegos will be meeting you out in
6
the hallway.
7
lawyers and the parties, we thank you for answering your
8
summons and sharing your day with us today.
9
On behalf of everyone here, that is the
Thank you.
(Jury panel exits courtroom.)
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THE COURT:
All right.
Ladies and
11
gentlemen of the jury, cause I know you're anxious to
12
also go home, while they are exiting, the rest are
13
exiting, I would like you to raise your right hand at
14
this time.
15
(Oath administered.)
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THE COURT:
You have now become official
17
members in the administration of justice.
18
me without this?
19
Can you hear
Okay.
All right.
We're going to do very little,
20
but I want to tell you about the importance of that
21
card.
22
to be worn at all times that you are here at the
23
courthouse.
24
use that card.
25
Number one, it gets you to the front of the security
Okay.
That card, the ID, identification card, is
So as soon as you walk in the door, please
That card serves three functions:
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line in the morning.
2
extremely important, especially on Mondays and Tuesdays,
3
and on Fridays because that's when we have all the
4
arraignments on -- for misdemeanors on the seventh
5
floor.
6
expected to be at a particular time in the courtroom.
7
And so, please advance to the front and you will be
8
allowed to, in effect, come up ahead of the others.
9
Don't feel like you're doing anything bad and cutting in
10
And I will tell you that is
So, the officers down there know that you are
line.
11
Number two function:
The instruction you
12
heard was do not talk to anyone about this case
13
whomsoever.
14
do not stay in the presence of anyone who may be
15
discussing the case.
16
in this case.
17
gonna come up on elevators and be sitting in the
18
courtroom -- I mean, outside the courtroom.
19
unproductive time in America is the first 10 to 15, 20
20
minutes of every workday.
21
the office, they put their purses up, they flip on the
22
computer, they take their jackets off, they go get their
23
first cup of coffee, they shoot the breeze and then we
24
start to work.
25
But our offices at the courthouse are these hallways,
There is a corollary to that and that is,
There are a lot of people involved
There are a lot of witnesses that are
The most
It's when everybody gets to
Same thing happens at the courthouse.
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the elevators, and outside the courtrooms.
That's where
2
we conduct the same conversations every day.
3
do you have going, sir?
4
trying, Judge Watts, okay?
5
us not to have those conversations.
6
into the elevator, we see you in the hallway.
7
not going to engage in those same conversations.
8
will see other people at the courthouse with different
9
colored tags, they're involved in different jury trials
Well, what
What kind of case are you
So that card is a signal to
So when you get
We are
You
10
in different courtrooms.
But it is very important, one
11
of the reasons that you wear that.
12
thing about that ID card is on the flip side of that
13
card is Mr. Gallegos's information.
14
strike, okay?
15
courthouse.
16
that have to finish this case.
17
going to be late for any reason, please call
18
Mr. Gallegos.
19
he is getting everything ready.
20
And of course, we have a docket even before you walk in
21
at -- which is gonna be 9:00 tomorrow.
22
strikes, please call Mr. Gallegos about your intended
23
tardiness.
24
jurors are late and they -- we don't know where they are
25
and it is so important that I will send the constables
The third important
I know disasters
Things can happen on the way to the
I understand that.
But you are the folks
All right?
If you're
On jury days, he is here early, because
He's opening things up.
If disaster
I will tell you, I get very antsy about when
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257
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out to go find you because we don't know where you are.
2
And so please make sure that you call.
3
Now, from this time forward, you will no
4
longer enter the jury room like through those double
5
doors or this door right here.
6
room and you will enter and exit through that jury room.
7
Mr. Gallegos will be waiting for you on the fourth --
8
fifth floor at the end of the hallway to allow you to
9
come into the jury room.
Over here is the jury
You will come through the
10
hallway and you will then be able to sit in the jury
11
room.
12
Two things.
I do allow bottled water.
I
13
do not allow any coffee.
14
If you want -- if you are -- I drink water all day long,
15
so if you want to have water while the case is going on,
16
you may bring in bottled water.
17
I don't allow any soda cans.
I have no idea how cold this courtroom is
18
going to be tomorrow, or whether it is gonna be hot.
19
While we were in the morning, everybody said it was a
20
rather chilly -- well, they were saying it was cold in
21
here.
22
take a jacket off.
23
then you may get cold in the courtroom.
24
some basic things.
25
I didn't feel that, but please, you can always
But if you come without a jacket
Those are just
The instructions, every day I'm going to
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tell you, please be reminded of the instructions.
2
isn't gonna be any media necessarily covering this case,
3
but the instruction is, don't talk about it with anyone.
4
We're trying to help you with those outside influences
5
that might come your way, all right?
6
There
We will start at 9:00 in the morning.
7
Every morning I have an 8:30 docket.
So there are cases
8
that will be here.
9
we might have inmates and we can't bring you in because
Sometimes you have to wait because
10
they're gonna be sitting in your chairs.
11
other cases don't stop just because we're involved here.
12
But I try to time it out because I do not like my jury
13
waiting.
14
waiting for transport to come get the inmates that may
15
be sitting in your chairs, if it is a criminal docket.
So if you are waiting, it's because we're
16
17
But I -- we --
Do any of you have any questions?
Okay.
Yes, ma'am.
18
PROSPECTIVE JUROR NO. 3:
So safely, we
19
could say this is gonna take two weeks because I gotta
20
get a substitute?
21
THE COURT:
22
take two weeks.
23
they're so well prepared.
24
as much as they can.
25
case.
I'd say, yes, it is going to
These attorneys, they have been -They're going to cut it down
But it is an extremely important
There's a lot of evidence that's gonna be
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
259
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presented.
2
hopefully, maybe we can cut it down, but my -- hopefully
3
-- my promise to you is December 18th.
4
make arrangements.
5
it's not gonna get over by then, then we're gonna start
6
working a little later, okay?
7
We're gonna work hard so that we can
Okay?
So please
If we get close and I'm thinking
So that we can get done.
I understand the time of the year is, for
8
those of us that have procrastinated, it gets a little
9
tense with regard to it.
10
But that's what the Internet
is all about at nighttime.
11
All right.
12
UNIDENTIFIED JUROR:
13
Any other questions?
of the day?
14
THE COURT:
15
UNIDENTIFIED JUROR:
16
17
What time at the end
9:00 in the morning.
At the end of the day,
approximately?
THE COURT:
You know, I always like to work
18
to 5:00 or 5:30.
19
gonna break with that witness, then I will work until
20
the natural break in the testimony, instead of having to
21
bring back a witness that could get, you know, come and
22
go home, is what I'm saying to you.
23
But if I have a witness on and we are
All right?
Every now and then it might be earlier than
24
5:00, but with our time frame and our time pressure,
25
pretty much it's gonna be 5:30, okay?
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
Yes, ma'am?
260
1
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UNIDENTIFIED JUROR:
Are we allowed to
bring our cell phones and have them in the jury room?
3
THE COURT:
If they don't confiscate them
4
downstairs, you are allowed to bring your cell phones.
5
I just say, no social networking with regards to this
6
case at all.
7
minutes, or the Judge only gave us 15 and I thought we
8
were gonna have 30.
9
this case at all.
10
Not, we're gonna have a break in 20
None of that.
Not one word about
And I'll tell you how important that is.
11
There was a federal case.
12
and a half weeks, something like ours.
13
had finished deliberations and someone went on there and
14
texted a friend to say, watch the news, big verdict
15
coming down.
16
case.
17
follow the instructions.
18
19
We don't want to have to do that.
Very good.
All right.
So please
Mr. Gallegos, you
want to show them how they're gonna leave and come in?
THE BAILIFF:
21
THE COURT:
23
They were in and
And the federal judge mistrialed that
20
22
They were in trial for two
All rise for the jury.
We've got some housekeeping to
do.
(Jury exits courtroom.)
24
(Voir dire proceedings concluded.)
25
(No further discussion held on the record.)
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
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SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR
262
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THE STATE OF TEXAS
*
2
COUNTY OF NUECES
*
3
I, Sara E. Rivera, Official Court Reporter,
4
in and for the 117th District Court of Nueces County,
5
State of Texas, do hereby certify that the above and
6
foregoing contains a true and correct transcription of
7
all portions of evidence and other proceedings requested
8
in writing by counsel for the parties to be included in
9
this volume of the Reporter's Record, in the
10
above-styled and numbered cause, all of which occurred
11
in open court or in chambers and were reported by me.
12
I further certify that this Reporter's Record
13
of the
14
exhibits, if any, admitted, tendered in an offer of
15
proof or offered into evidence.
16
proceedings truly and correctly reflects the
I further certify that the total cost for the
17
preparation of this Reporter's Record is $ _________ and
18
was paid by/will be paid by _______________________.
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20
WITNESS MY OFFICIAL HAND, this the 13th day of
December, 2015.
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22
23
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/s/ Sara E. Rivera
SARA E. RIVERA, Texas CSR 4626
Expiration date: 12/31/2017
Official Court Reporter
17th District Court
901 Leopard Street, Room 901.01
Corpus Christi, Texas 78401
361-888-0658
SARA E. RIVERA, CSR, CRR