A juror’s body language can silently signal a lawyer’s misread of her.

Evidence

The trouble, Schlichtmann believed, was coming either from Harriet Clarke, the church organist, a thin, rather severe-looking woman in her late forties, or from Jean Coulsey, the stout, white-haired, ruddy-cheeked grandmother who drove a forklift part-time at a department store warehouse. Coulsey was the one who’d said at her voir dire that she thought the lawsuit might be the product of “some lady maybe looking for a little extra money.” Despite that, Schlichtmann had instinctively liked Coulsey. He’d felt confident, certain even, of her allegiance throughout the trial. But now, watching her in the corridor, he wondered if he hadn’t made a terrible mistake. She always looked grim as she approached him, her mouth set and lips narrowed, her head tucked down and turned away. Everything in her demeanor told him that she wished she could avoid him. — , Harr Jonathan - A Civil Action, 2328

Categorization

• SHARE: The voir dire quip about “some lady maybe looking for a little extra money” and the juror who then goes grim is exactly the kind of detail one torts-obsessed friend would want texted.