Vioxx, Juries and the TV Show CSI

At the first Vioxx trial in Texas, the plaintiff's lawyer, Mark Lanier, compared the jurors to participants in CSI, as described in a newspaper account:

[I]n court, Mr. Lanier gave a blistering two-and-a-half-hour opening statement that moved quickly through a lot of material in folksy, easy to understand language. He told jurors that they are to be “detectives” in this case. “If we were going to put it into a TV show, this would be ‘CSI Angleton’ because this is your chance,” he said, according to a court transcript. “You’re going to follow the evidence, like any good detective would. You follow the evidence.”

At the second Vioxx trial in New Jersey, it was Merck's lawyers who chose to play the CSI theme, according to another account:

Merck lawyer Diane Sullivan denied [plaintiff's] allegations on both counts, telling jurors Merck's witnesses would prove Vioxx had nothing to do with Humeston's heart attack and that the company researched the drug's effects and reported the problems when it found out about them. She told them the testimony in the case would be thick with medical and scientific terms and that they would be the ones to sift through it. "You folks are going to be like detectives, like `CSI,' where you test the allegations they've made against the evidence," Sullivan said.

What is it with the TV show CSI? I've never seen it, but it's apparently having a big influence on juries. Here's an article, for example, from USA Today: "CSI effect has juries wanting more evidence."

If you're a trial lawyer who thinks it's important to understand juries, you should probably read the article. You might even consider watching the show. It would be a sacrifice, sure, but if that's what it takes to win . . .

Comments

[Aaron]

I took a look at CSI during the first season of the first show, and thought it overwrought and melodramatic. A few months later it was a smash hit, but I have not been inspired to again watch the show (or any of its spinoffs) to see if it has (IMHO) improved - or if it was its original presenation that resonates with its fan base.

[Tim]

I've never been able to get in to CSI (I prefer Law & Order for my unrealistic crime dramas, thank you), but a lot of my co-workers love it.

I don't know if the reporting on the subject is true or not (never experienced it myself), but it blows my mind that some people on juries could be demanding more evidence, in a CSI-like manner.