For The Defense, December 2011 - DRI Today
For The Defense, December 2011 - DRI Today
For The Defense, December 2011 - DRI Today
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Trucking Law<br />
aging juror responsiveness. Let’s take attitudes<br />
toward corporations as an example.<br />
Suppose you ask, “Does anyone here have a<br />
negative view of corporations?” Jurors who<br />
have negative views may be less likely to<br />
raise their hands since the question implies<br />
someone only rarely would have such an<br />
opinion. What about the following question:<br />
“By a show of hands, how many of<br />
Jurors are more<br />
likely to identify and<br />
sympathize with the people<br />
in the car than with the<br />
driver of the truck.<br />
you have a negative view of corporations?”<br />
Here, the question suggests to prospective<br />
jurors that people commonly have these<br />
negative views, and you, the juror, don’t<br />
have to feel shy telling us that you do, too.<br />
Here are some additional questions you<br />
should consider asking in a trucking case:<br />
• I represent Mr. [driver] and [trucking<br />
company], and I recognize that many<br />
people have negative opinions of truck<br />
drivers or trucking companies because<br />
of the experiences they have had or<br />
because of what they have seen in media<br />
reports.<br />
• How many of you have ever been<br />
intimidated or scared by a truck on<br />
the road?<br />
• How many of you, by a show of hands,<br />
have ever witnessed or been involved<br />
in an accident with a truck?<br />
• In an accident lawsuit involving an individual<br />
and a truck driver, how many of<br />
you would start out in favor of the individual,<br />
even slightly, before hearing the<br />
evidence in the case? It is okay if you feel<br />
this way, but I just need to know. By a<br />
show of hands, how many of you would<br />
be inclined to start a bit in favor of the<br />
individual driver?<br />
• This case involves an individual who is<br />
alleging that he or she suffered injury in<br />
a vehicular accident with a truck driver.<br />
Some people believe truck drivers are<br />
62 ■ <strong>For</strong> <strong>The</strong> <strong>Defense</strong> ■ <strong>December</strong> <strong>2011</strong><br />
professional drivers and because they<br />
are professionals, they should be held<br />
to higher driving standards than a regular<br />
driver. Others believe truck drivers<br />
are only human and should be held to<br />
the same standards as regular automobile<br />
drivers. What I would like to know<br />
is how many of you feel the first way—<br />
that truck drivers are professionals and<br />
therefore should be held to higher driving<br />
standards? And how many of you<br />
feel strongly about that?<br />
After you have the information necessary<br />
to exercise your peremptory strikes<br />
effectively, and to make a strong case for<br />
challenges for cause, you can also inculcate<br />
your jurors against bias and obtain their<br />
public commitment not to reach conclusions<br />
about your case until they hear all the<br />
evidence. You should also encourage jurors<br />
to call attention to bias in the deliberation<br />
room when other jurors discuss their own<br />
negative experiences with truckers or make<br />
generalizations about trucking companies.<br />
<strong>The</strong> following comments and questions are<br />
examples of ways to indoctrinate jurors<br />
against bias during voir dire. Please note<br />
that some courts may preclude these questions,<br />
which are rhetorical in nature and<br />
are not designed to elicit candid responses<br />
from the jurors.<br />
• [Trucking company] is a company that<br />
is responsible for delivering freight to<br />
stores, manufacturing plants and anyone<br />
else who needs something transported<br />
from one place to another.<br />
• Will any of you hold your experiences<br />
with other trucks on other days<br />
against my clients in this case today?<br />
• Mr. [driver] is a professional truck<br />
driver who was driving a truck to make<br />
a pickup on [date].<br />
• Mr. [driver] lives in [place]. Does anyone<br />
here know him?<br />
• Trucking companies like [trucking company]<br />
are made up of people, and they<br />
deserve the same justice that we would<br />
give to an individual. In fact, the law<br />
will instruct you that you must treat<br />
individuals and corporations the same.<br />
Will everyone here be able to do that—<br />
to treat [trucking company] the same<br />
as you would an individual, such as<br />
[plaintiff]?<br />
• In the jury deliberation room, your fellow<br />
jurors may bring up their own expe-<br />
riences with big trucks or truck drivers<br />
they have encountered on the road. Will<br />
you be able to say to your fellow jurors<br />
“we are only supposed to be basing our<br />
decision on the evidence in this case—<br />
not our personal experiences?”<br />
Educating the Public to Reduce Bias<br />
<strong>The</strong> trucking industry and its advocates<br />
have taken steps to spread the word on<br />
how important trucks are to our country<br />
and how professional truckers are the<br />
safest group of drivers on our roads. <strong>The</strong><br />
American Trucking Association’s “Good<br />
Things: Trucks Bring It” program is a great<br />
start, but much more is needed. Drivers<br />
who reach safety milestones should be<br />
lauded publicly, not just internally. Anecdotal<br />
evidence of trucking’s positive contributions<br />
to society is abundant but poorly<br />
reported. Everyone in the trucking industry,<br />
as well as everyone closely associated<br />
with the trucking industry, should actively<br />
seek opportunities to talk and write about<br />
trucking’s overall safety record and the<br />
high standards to which commercial drivers<br />
are held.<br />
If those of us who depend on the trucking<br />
industry to feed our families don’t<br />
advocate for its continued vitality and survival,<br />
then no one else will.<br />
Conclusion<br />
Trucking companies and truck drivers are<br />
pariahs in the courtroom. <strong>The</strong> general public<br />
perceives the industry as far less safe<br />
than it really is. <strong>The</strong> media sensationalizes<br />
reports of catastrophic accidents while<br />
ignoring countless everyday acts of courtesy<br />
and safety. Stories of truck drivers’<br />
rude and reckless behavior are much more<br />
likely to be repeated than stories of their<br />
kindness and courtesy. This emboldens<br />
people who interact with trucks to assert<br />
liability claims against trucking companies<br />
and truck drivers, who start with<br />
two strikes against them in defending liability<br />
claims. Those who manage, defend,<br />
and resolve those claims must be properly<br />
prepared and equipped to evaluate and<br />
counteract bias against truckers. How the<br />
trucking industry and its lawyers deal with<br />
bias, both in the short term and in the long<br />
term, is an essential element of successful<br />
liability risk management.