Current Issues in Civil Litigation

This session explores what you need to know about the new rules; partiality in peremptory challenges – including proposed reforms to eliminate bias in jury selection; and what practitioners can do to combat bias in the courtroom.

What You’ll Learn:
1. A panel of experienced attorneys will discuss principal changes and proposed changes to the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal Rules of Evidence, as well as recent significant judicial decisions regarding the Arizona civil rules
2. A distinguished panel of lawyers and judges will discuss the national movement to reform jury selection practices to curb the use of peremptory challenges to discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity and other protected group statuses. The panel will discuss the State of Washington’s recently passed court rule that confers more extensive protections against discriminatory use of peremptory challenges than the more limited protections afforded by Batson v. Kentucky, and then focus on two proposals currently before the Arizona Supreme Court – one modeled on Washington’s rule, and another that would ban peremptory challenges outright
3. A diverse panel with extensive courtroom experience will discuss the risk of bias in the courtroom as it relates to attorneys, witnesses and parties, as well as strategies for addressing bias in the courtroom and combatting the risks of bias Presented by: Civil Practice and Procedure Committee

Chairs:
Jessica Fotinos, Clerk of the Superior Court for Maricopa County
John Gray, Perkins Coie LLP

Faculty:
Professor Mary Bowman, ASU Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Hon. Steven C. Gonzàlez, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Washington
Daniel Arellano, Ballard Spahr LLP
Hon. Renee Bennett, Pima County Superior Court
Jack Chin, Pima County Attorney’s Office
Ann Ching, ASU Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Jodi Feuerhelm, Perkins Coie LLP
Hon. David Gass, Arizona Court of Appeals, Div. One
Hon. Claudia Gonzàlez Jimenez
Kina Harding, The Harding Firm
Patience Huntwork, Staff Attorney, Arizona Supreme Court
Andrew Jacobs, Snell & Wilmer LLP
Sharon Ng, Stinson Morrison Hecker
John Rogers, Staff Attorney, Arizona Supreme Court
Jared Sutton, Papetti Samuels Weiss
Hon. Peter Swann, Arizona Court of Appeals, Div. One