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Court Error – Exclusion of Evidence

By: Derek Hawkins//June 15, 2021//

Court Error – Exclusion of Evidence

By: Derek Hawkins//June 15, 2021//

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7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Katherine Black v. Cherie Wrigley, et al.,

Case No.: 20-2656

Officials: KANNE, ROVNER, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Court Error – Exclusion of Evidence

Katherine Black sued two defendants for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Ultimately, the trial did not go as Katherine had hoped, and the jury rejected her claims.  Katherine now argues that her trial was riddled with errors and asks that we overturn the jury’s verdict for several reasons. Katherine maintains that the district court erred in several ways: first, by excluding numerous pieces of evidence that should have been admitted; second, by allowing improper statements by defense counsel in closing argument; third, by declining to give a jury instruction on one of her defamation claims; and fourth, by denying Katherine’s request to give her own closing argument, or hire new counsel to do so, after her lead lawyer suffered some sort of breakdown after the close of evidence.  However, our analysis discloses no errors warranting a reversal, and therefore, Katherine’s request for a new trial is denied.

Affirmed

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Derek A Hawkins is Associate Corporate Counsel, IP at Amazon.

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