Tuesday, August 13, 2002
Page 3
Wall Street Journal Reports Jurors Increasingly Showing Bias Toward Businesses
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Jurors are increasingly bringing an anti-business bias to the courtroom, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.
Citing statistics compiled by Los Angeles-based consulting firm DecisionQuest, the newspaper reported that jury pools are far more cynical about business ethics than they were a year ago.
The consultant conducted more than 200 mock trials across the country over the last six months.
The shift is likely tied to the host of corporate and accounting scandals over the last year, beginning with revelations about the accounting practices of Enron and Andersen, and continuing through the recent bankruptcies of WorldCom and Adelphia Communications Corp., the paper reported.
Jurors whose own stock portfolios have plummeted in recent months may be particularly prone to punishing corporations and their leaders, the Journal reported, leading defense lawyers to go to unusual lengths to spot jurors who may be looking for payback.
Copyright 2002, Metropolitan News Company