What to Do When Jurors Don't 'Trust the Science'
Litigation attorney Eric Alexander, who leads Holland & Knight's Product Liability – Life Sciences Team, was featured in a Law360 article exploring how lawyers are adapting to shifting attitudes toward scientific research and federal regulatory agencies. The COVID-19 pandemic, combined with recent staffing reductions at agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), have increased polarization and decreased trust in established scientific norms, creating new challenges for counsel in the courtroom. Mr. Alexander recalled an instance in which a potential juror expressed skepticism in FDA approval of a product as a marker of safety as an example of this trend. He shared on the defense side, one strategy that has proven effective is to focus on the reasonableness of his client's actions. Saying that a company was simply trying to follow the rules, he explained, can help avoid questions around trust in the government and instead refocus jurors on whether the conduct merits the charges.
"Here we are, spending weeks of the jury's time, on a case that is premised on 'They followed the rules,'" he gave as an example argument. "Really? That's why we are here?"