D.D. 06/12/05

The Chattanooga Times Free Press has an article today outlying the defense State Senator John Ford will likely use in the trial steaming from federal corruption charges. Based on previous comments by Ford's defense team, one legal expert thinks that Ford might be using the seldom-used strategy of "shock[ing] the conscience" of juriors. For this defense to work, the legal team would have to argue that the federal government went to outrageous length to prove corruption. The two examples the article cites are for instance, the government using sexual intimacy to gain information or the government running a drug lab. Another possible defense is so-called "jury nullifcation," the defense used in the O.J. Simpson case. This defense centers around ensuring that there may be favorable juriors on the bench before the trial starts. That defense is something that prosecutors should worry about, according to an article in the Commercial Appeal. Dan Clancy, a former federal prosecutors says that campaign activity, such as campaigning for the former Senator, might not be enough to disqualify potential juriors. Likewise, you cannot ask political party affiliation, race, sex, or religion in jury selection.