Legal Question in Appeals and Writs in California

Re: conspiracy during a trial

You make a lot of accusations but it is not clear why you believe these things, aside from general dissatisfaction with the verdict. A lot of parties who lose at trial believe that their loss must be the result of a conspiracy, incompetence, juror misconduct, or anything under the sun -- other than the possibility that the jurors just didn't believe what the losing party wanted them to believe.

But let's assume for the time being that everything you say is true. (I presume that this was a civil case.)

Winning an appeal generally requires a showing of serious error by the trial court. Misconduct by lawyers or witnesses -- including expert witnesses -- does not warrant a reversal on appeal if the court did nothing wrong. However, if you can prove the misconduct you can sue your lawyer and/or your experts. If there was really a conspiracy you can sue the other people involved as well. I should point out that the mere fact that an expert was working for the opposing lawyer in a different case would not necessarily be a problem, especially if this fact was disclosed to you ahead of time.

Jurors heckling signals that something is seriously wrong -- especially if the court doesn't address the situation firmly. What exactly did the jurors do? If they merely laughed at something they found funny then that's OK, but if they actually taunted attorneys, parties, witnesses, court personnel or the judge then there may well be a good argument to make.

You say that "the verdict was referred to as Jury nullification", but you don't say by whom. If your own lawyer said this than it won't do you much good. If the judge said it then you have something more substantial to go on.

In a civil case there are certain post-trial motions that can -- and often must -- be made before an appeal is taken. For example, you can seek a judgment notwithstanding the verdict and/or a new trial. Some or all of your appellate rights may be lost if these motions are not made properly and on time. By the same token, there are time limits on filing the notice of appeal as well.

If you have more facts to add, please feel free to contact me directly. I do a lot of appellate work, and upon consulting with a potential client I sometimes find that accusations like the ones you have made are actually true.

Re: conspiracy during a trial

If it canbe shown that such allegations are true, then there are things that be done. But there are time limits, so many details are needed. Were you a plaintiff, a defendant, was there an insurer involved, etc.

If you can explain more fully, then not only might the result be appealed, but there might also be a malpractice case based on the alleged conflicts of interest.