Hogland et al v. Town & Country Grocer of Fredericktown Missouri Inc

Filing 126

ORDER directing counsel for Town & Country to provide the Court and Mr. Dreyer, within seven days from the entry of this Order, the specific questions that they propose to ask those jurors who may be willing to talk with them about the case. Mr. Drey er will be allowed fourteen days to make objections to those questions. The Court will then review the proposed questions, along with any objections, and let Town & Country's counsel know whether they may ask all or only some of those questions. Second, the Court will writ each juror a letter informing that about the questions and inquire whether they desire to to talk with Town & Country's counsel. If the jurors are willing to talk, they should contact Shauna Bostic and let her know t he time of day and phone number they prefer to be contacted. Once this information is received by Ms. Bostic, counsel for Town & Country can contact only those jurors who have indicated a willingness to talk with them about the case. The only questions that Town & Country's counsel can ask those jurors are the ones previously approved by the Court. Signed by Magistrate Judge J. Thomas Ray on 9/1/2015. (jak)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
JONESBORO DIVISION

KERRY HOGLAND, et al.

VS.

PLAINTIFFS

3:14CV00273 JTR

TOWN & COUNTRY GROCER
OF FREDERICKTOWN MISSOURI, INC.

DEFENDANT

ORDER
On August 25, 2015, the Court received an email from counsel for
Defendant, Town & Country Grocer of Fredericktown Missouri, Incorporated
(“Town & Country”), requesting permission, under Local Rule 47.1, “to contact
some jurors to get opinions on how they viewed some of the evidence in the case.”1
While the Court generally allows attorneys to speak with jurors, after they
have rendered their verdict, it has developed a number of rules that attorneys must
follow in performing this task. These rules are designed to balance the attorneys’
interest in learning how the jury evaluated the evidence and their arguments at
trial, with the jurors’ interest in not being harassed or unduly burdened by
questions from the lawyers.

1

A copy of this email, marked Exhibit A, is attached to this Order.

First, counsel for Town & Country must provide the Court and Mr. Dreyer,
within seven days from the entry of this Order, with the specific questions that they
propose to ask those jurors who may be willing to talk with them about the case.
Mr. Dreyer will be allowed fourteen days to make objections to those questions.
The Court will then review the proposed questions, along with any objections, and
let Town & Country’s counsel know whether they may ask all or only some of
those questions.
Second, after the questions have been finalized, the Court will write each
juror a letter notifying them that: (1) attorneys for Town & Country would like to
talk with them, individually, about the trial; (2) they are under no obligation to talk
with Town & Country’s attorneys and their decision to do so is strictly up to them;
and (3) any of them who are willing to talk with Town & Country’s attorneys
about the case should contact Shauna Bostic and let her know the time of day they
would prefer to be contacted and the phone number the attorneys should call to
make contact with them.
Those jurors who contact Ms. Bostic and express a willingness to talk with
counsel for Town & Country will be given a copy of the approved questions they
will be asked about the trial. This should help those jurors to provide more
thoughtful and meaningful responses to those questions when they are contacted by
Town & Country’s counsel.
2

Ms. Bostic will then provide counsel for Town & Country with the names,
phone numbers, and best contact times for those jurors who are willing to talk with
them about the case. After receiving this information from Ms. Bostic, counsel for
Town & Country can contact only those jurors who have indicated a willingness to
talk with them about the case. The only questions that Town & country’s counsel
can ask those jurors are the ones previously approved by the Court.
IT IS SO ORDERED this 1st day September, 2015.

___________________________________
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

3

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Hogland v. Town and Country
Jonathan Baker
to:
[e-mail]
08/25/2015 10:13 AM
Cc:
Steve Heil, Roger Dreyer, Brett McDaniel
Hide Details
From: Jonathan Baker <[e-mail]>
To: "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>,
Cc: Steve Heil <[e-mail]>, Roger Dreyer <[e-mail]>, Brett
McDaniel <[e-mail]>
History: This message has been replied to.
Paul,
I am writing to seek permission from the Court to contact some jurors to get opinions on how they
viewed some of the evidence in this case. I am wondering if a pleading is needed by Judge Ray or if
there is another avenue of permission he prefers. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks,
JONATHAN E. BAKER
AT TORNEY AT LAW
BARBER LAW FIRM, PLLC
2700 Regions Center
400 West Capitol Avenue
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
Direct | 501.707.6148
Company | 501.372.6175
Facsimile | 501.375.2802
www.barberlawfirm.com

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Exhibit A

file:///C:/Users/phwood/AppData/Local/Temp/notes2EA1C5/~web2654.htm

8/31/2015