News — Sari de la Motte

Reviewed by Jason Skuda Originally published in the July/August 2020 issue of Trial News, the monthly publication from the Washington State Association for Justice.  “Jurors are, for all intents and purposes, hostages.” This concept begins Sari de la Motte’s advice on approaching jury trials. As hostages, jurors are the trial’s first of two “victims.” They arrive unhappy, discombobulated, and, more often than not, scared. The plaintiff’s lawyer must free the jurors by creating a safe space for jurors to express themselves in voir dire and to act on the plaintiff’s behalf when they deliberate. To do this, Mr. or Ms. Lawyer, you...

In Hidalgo County, Texas, attorneys Michael Cowen and Malorie Peacock of Cowen Rodriguez and Peacock obtained a just multimillion-dollar verdict for the widow of a man who died during a trench collapse. The Case: Trenches tend to cave in, which is why there are safety regulations to prevent this. If a trench is over five feet deep, certain safety equipment is required. The defendant did not use the required equipment. The trench collapsed and the plaintiff’s husband died.  The plaintiff’s husband was undocumented and that fact posed an obstacle for the plaintiff’s case in trial. Also the plaintiff and her...