Here's a list of things that should be completed in the months or weeks leading up to trial. It's based on a checklist I keep in my computer and transfer from case to case. By necessity, it's somewhat individualized, but it could easily be used as a model for a checklist of your own.
Supplement discovery
Complete exhibit list; think about foundation for each exhibit
Work out stipulations for exhibits
Prepare demonstrative exhibits
Complete Rule 237 notice to produce
Prepare motion in limine
Complete trial memorandum (required in Madison County and elsewhere; should contain a short statement of the case and a list of the parties and attorneys)
Complete pretrial brief, if necessary
Organize trial notebook
Complete jury instructions
Draft a "proof chart"--a list of required elements, and how each will be proved
Sketch out testimony of the witnesses, based on the proof chart
Line up witnesses
Prepare voir dire and opening statement; make some preliminary notes about closing
In Allen v. Martinez, the Second District affirmed again that in Illinois, a trampoline is an open and obvious danger. The case, which contains a useful explanation of the proper duty analysis, might be applicable in a number of analogous situations. In discussing a previous trampoline case, Sollami v. Eaton, the court stated:
The court held first that the manufacturer had no duty to warn the plaintiff of the danger from jumping on a trampoline because the risk was open and obvious. The existence of a duty did not depend on whether the particular plaintiff knew of the danger but on an "objective" test--whether an ordinary person would be aware of the risk. Sollami, 201 Ill. 2d at 7. The court reasoned that the danger of injury from jumping on a recreational trampoline is akin to that of falling from a height, a danger that the court had deemed "open and obvious to any child old enough to be allowed at large." Sollami, 201 Ill. 2d at 14.
The Allen court followed Sollami, also quoting the Sollami court on the duty analysis:
From the Illinois State Bar Association: Guide to the Illinois Statutes of Limitations. According to the ISBA, "The Guide is a quick reference to statutes of limitation for Illinois civil actions, bringing together provisions otherwise scattered throughout the Code of Civil Procedure and other chapters of the Illinois Compiled Statutes." The guide is available in PDF or Word format.
Ernie also recommends The Lawyer's Guide to Fact-Finding on the Internet, by Carole Levitt and Mark Rosch. According to Ernie, the book, which first led him to Google Groups, also contains "many other great examples of how a lawyer can find useful information on the Internet."
In Maras v. Milestone, Inc., the Second District recently issued a decision that contains a good summary of Illinois law on vicarious liability.
In a case arising out of an alleged beating of a disabled woman at the home in which she lived, plaintiff sued the home's owners for battery on a theory of vicarious liability. One of the defendant's chief contentions for dismissal was that "[p]laintiff has not pled one fact to suggest that [the] battery upon the plaintiff by 'striking her repeatedly' was the type of conduct that the employees were, in fact, employed to perform."
Most readers who come here by way of Google searches are looking for information about cross-examination. Here's an article about cross-examining experts at trial by William Lightfoot, published on his firm's website but first presented at an ATLA seminar: "Cross-examination of Experts." It's divided into the following parts:
I. Jury Expects Excitement
II. When Is An Expert's Testimony Admitted [discussion of fed'l rules]
III. The Ten Commandments of Cross-Examination
IV. Objectives of Cross-Examination
V. Methods to Obtain the Goals of Cross-Examination
VI. Cross of Medical Experts
VII. Conclusion
The book is a joint production of the Federal Judicial Center and the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. In the preface, the authors note that the book draws on the expertise of judges, law professors, and practitioners. It's divided into four parts: Courtroom Technology, an Overview; Discovery; Pretrial; and Trial.
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