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Article: Altered jury instructions botched case, Missouri Supreme Court told
- Article from:
- St. Louis Daily Record
- Article date:
- January 30, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 St. Louis Daily Record / St. Louis Countian. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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A Kansas City attorney told the Missouri Supreme Court that a
circuit judge's changes to his suggested jury instructions had
"gutted" the theory under which he was trying to win.
Bill Pickett, a solo practitioner, argued to the court on
Thursday that Judge Vernon Scoville III's changes ultimately led the
jury to reject his medical mal-practice case in December 2005.
"The theory that Judge Scoville submitted was different than my
theory from the day I opened my mouth in opening statements,"
Pickett said. The changes, he later added, "gutted my entire theory -
- after four weeks of trial, thousands of dollars, tons of jury time
and right before Christmas."
Pickett won a victory in the Missouri ...