'Non-Media' Jury Prejudice and Rule 21(A): Lessons from Enron

Abstract:     
This article begins by examining the traditional jury prejudice jurisprudence, which focuses on how media coverage affects potential jurors. After summarizing this caselaw and its application in practice through a motion to transfer under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 21(a), I argue there is a category of crimes outside of this traditional framework. These crimes prejudice a jury pool not only by the appurtenant media coverage, but by their own affect on the community. The piece then analyzes the prosecution of Kenneth Law and Richard Skilling arising from the collapse of Enron, and posits this as a paradigmatic "community crime." The paper concludes by suggesting that we can learn from this category of "community crimes" for any future terrorism trials in civilian courts. Lawyers and judges will have to handle the inevitable Rule 21(a) motions, and can use this new category and the lessons from Enron to face these seemingly uncharted waters.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 26

Accepted Paper Series