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Flag pin unfairly sways jury, says lawyer seeking new trial
ARC
Network Member Article:
Submitted by John Meserve
http://www.pressherald.com/news/local/020629flagpin.shtml
A
lawyer says that patriotism in the courtroom interfered with his
client's right to a fair trial.
In a federal
court motion, Terrence Garmey says the jury in his client's personal
injury trial may have been unfairly influenced when the judge
allowed an insurance company witness to wear an American flag
pin on his lapel while testifying.
By permitting
the witness to wear the pin, the judge allowed him to ''drape
himself in the American flag, thereby cloaking his testimony with
patriotism and inviting the jury's emotional instinct,'' Garmey
wrote.
It was the
''largest American flag lapel pin I'd ever seen,'' Garmey said.
But lawyers
for Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Co. said in a response filed
this week that since Sept. 11, demonstrating one's patriotism
has become a way of life.
The document
also says the pin was so small that it is questionable whether
jurors could even identify it.
''These pins
do not cloak those individuals with some unusual level of patriotism
as the (plaintiffs) suggest,'' the company said. ''It is now simply
a way of life that the flag is more evident in our homes, on our
clothing and on our cars.''
The arguments
stem from a lawsuit filed by Susan and Dennis Ford of Westbrook
against their auto insurance company.
The lawsuit
sought damages stemming from an accident in 2000 in Las Vegas
in which Susan Ford was seriously injured when her car was struck
by a drunken driver while she was making a U-turn, Garmey said.
Ford suffered severe injuries and ran up $130,000 in medical bills,
according to court documents.
Nationwide
Insurance refused to give full coverage, claiming that Ford was
more at fault than the other driver in the accident because of
the U-turn. A jury agreed in May.
Garmey says
his clients deserve a new trial. Besides the flag issue, he says
he should have been allowed to present certain evidence the judge
ruled inadmissible
When an accident
reconstruction expert was called to testify for Nationwide Insurance,
Garmey asked that his lapel pin be removed.
But U.S. District
Judge D. Brock Hornby said he didn't think the pin would sway
the jury, and allowed the witness to keep it on.
Garmey said
any symbolic pin — whether it be religious, political or
patriotic — has no place in a courtroom.
''If any witnesses
wear American flags, all witnesses should,'' he said. ''Put them
on everybody.'
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