Federal Jury Rules Against Transamerica in Battle Over Rates
The case involved the alleged use of racial data to justify rate increases on ‘investor-owned’ policies at a Los Angeles church
A federal jury found in favor of policyholders in a closely watched case that challenged the leeway life insurers have when raising rates on old policies.
The eight-person jury in Los Angeles awarded $5.6 million in damages to an investment group, DCD Partners LLC, that alleged Aegon NV’s Transamerica Life Insurance Co. impermissibly used race-based data when it raised rates by 50%. The jury found that Transamerica breached its insurance-policy contract and an obligation to deal fairly and in good faith, according to the verdict form filed Wednesday.
Recent Negligent Homicide Case Acquittal
Jury acquits WMPD officer Jody Ledoux in homeless man’s death
A six-person jury found Jody Ledoux not guilty of negligent homicide after a weeklong trial related to a December 2014 incident where the West Monroe police officer shot and killed 51-year-old Raymond Keith Martinez.
Martinez was described as drunk when Ledoux encountered him outside a convenience store in West Monroe on Dec. 4, 2014. After arriving at the store, Ledoux exited his patrol car and shot Martinez four times. Martinez died at a local hospital later that evening as a result of his injuries.
Calif. Jury Finds For Flu Remedy Maker In False Ad Trial
A California federal jury on Thursday ruled against a class of consumers alleging that Boiron Inc. misled them into buying a homeopathic remedy that didn’t provide relief for flu symptoms as advertised, rejecting claims that Boiron’s product was nothing more than a sugar pill.
Thursday’s verdict, reached after less than two hours of deliberations, followed a one-week first phase of a trial over claims that Boiron violated California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act because its product, Oscillococcinum or Oscillo, cannot provide relief of flulike symptoms as its…
Recent Criminal Case Acquittal
Levine not guilty of inappropriate touching
Joshua Mark Levine, described by witnesses over the last two weeks as a “fantastic” teacher, was found not guilty Wednesday of inappropriately touching a student in his class.
Levine, a 43-year-old teacher at Castaic Elementary School, was charged with four counts of misdemeanor inappropriate touching of female students in his class during the 2014-15 school year.
The jury remained hung—with 11 jurors voting not guilty and one voting guilty—on the remaining misdemeanor counts involving the other three girls.
Levine’s lawyer, Todd Melnik, asked the court to dismiss the three unresolved charges and, when a lawyer representing the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office voiced no objection, Commissioner Jeffrey M. Harkavy dismissed the remaining three charges against Levine.
“I’m never teaching again,” a visibly shaken Levine told a welcoming crowd of family members and jurors who had gathered in the hallway of the Santa Clarita Courthouse.
“It’s so sad,” he said. “The thought of being in front of kids right now makes me shake.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he said.
One juror called the case against Levine a witch hunt launched by educators at Castaic Elementary School.
“I had a hard time sleeping,” said the female juror. “It made me physically ill. For this man being blamed for something he did not do.
“He needs to take this further.”
The juror said she was convinced the Castaic teachers were out to get Levine.
The jury of eight women and four men spent a full day deliberating Wednesday but most of the day was spent debating the issue of sexual intent, said the jury’s foreman outside of the courtroom.
“The prosecutor didn’t bring up sexual intent,” he said. “She showed a lot of stuff that happened. It was sexual intent that was not proven.”
When the “not guilty” verdict was read, Levine began crying, his shoulders shaking.
Levine’s wife, father and mother sat shoulder-to-shoulder in the courtroom as the verdict was being read.
His attorney put an assuring hand on his client’s shoulder as the Commissioner polled each of the jurors about their being deadlocked over the three unresolved charges.
The trial lasted more than two weeks with testimony delivered by the four female students, and several educators, including current and former teachers and principals.
Detectives with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Bureau arrested Levine on May 14, 2015.
Dr. Jo-Ellan Dimitrius interviewed for Will True-Crime Docuseries Change How Jurors Think?
Though if you ask professional jury consultants, someone plucked fresh from devouring Making a Murderer might not even make it past their first day of civic duty. “You would want to have the attorney ask: ‘How long did you watch it? With whom might you have had conversations about what you saw? Have you done anything in furtherance of your feelings about the show? For instance, some sort of social-media post,’” advises trial consultant Jo-Ellan Dimitrius, who’s helped select juries for clients representing both plaintiffs and defendants, notably including O.J. Simpson’s 1994 defense team. “By gaining that information, you’re going to get a good mind-set of [whether] they were biased in favor of Mr. Avery and against the prosecution or police.” Moreover, she projects that potential jurors’ familiarity with Making a Murderer in particular “will be a significant question on criminal cases from here on out. We used to ask those questions about CSI because it was pretty predictive of someone who was a defense-prone juror.”
Dr. Jo-Ellan Dimitrius Interview on Fox & Friends
…the Fifth Amendment guarantees a defendant a jury of their peers, which, over time has come to mean a jury that is reflective of community conscience…
Calif. Jury Clears Hyland’s In $255M False Ad Trial
A California federal jury on Friday cleared Hyland’s Inc. in a $255 million nationwide class action that alleged the company misled tens of thousands of purchasers into believing their homeopathic products were effective for various ailments.
The representative class of purchasers of seven products claim that Hyland’s, through its marketing and packaging, misrepresented its products as effective for allergies, leg cramps, migraines and sleeplessness, among others. The plaintiffs sought full refunds, totaled at $255 million.
Cunningham Not Guilty
It took the jury 3 hours to come up with their verdict. After more than 10 days of testimony, the jury found Brock Cunningham not guilty on charges of child abuse and murder in the first degree.Cunningham was on trial regarding the death of 3-year-old Natalie Pickle after an incident occurred in November 2008 that led to her death.Cunningham claimed that on November 19, 2008, Pickle had been jumping on her bed when she fell and hit her head.When he went to see what the noise was he heard…
Read the original article published in the Dodge City Daily Globe »
Interview with Boston’s NPR on High-Profile Cases
Dr. Jo-Ellan Dimitrius and Robin Young discuss the difficulties involved in finding impartial jurors for high-profile cases.
Interview with KABC regarding Zimmerman Trial Jurors
Dr. Jo-Ellan Dimitrius discusses the Zimmerman trial with KABC.