Study: 50 Percent of Smokers Keep Puffing After Cancer Diagnosis

According to a Fox News article:

Even though smoking is a risk factor for multiple types of cancer, more than half of smokers diagnosed with the disease keep using tobacco, and doctors aren't doing enough to help them quit.

A West Virginia University survey published in the Journal of Oncology Practice found that 44 percent of smokers quit after being diagnosed with cancer.

Now, what was your first reaction upon reading that lede? I'm guessing something along the lines of, "What a bunch of bloody fools!"

And that is precisely the reaction we encounter from focus group jurors when discussing smoking habits. In medical malpractice cases, we've observed how a patient's decision to smoke typically illicit strong opinions about personal responsibility. However, it's nothing compared to the vitriol jurors unleash on patients who continue to smoke or resume poor health choices after a bad diagnosis.

Which brings us to the next finding of the study: "doctors aren't doing enough to help them quit."

Less than two thirds, 62 percent, say they received advice from doctors or nurses about quitting the habit.

Dr. Jame Abraham, the study's lead author, says the survey shows there's a need for intervention programs to help cancer patients quit tobacco.

Really? Being diagnosed with cancer isn't enough to make someone quit, but a nurse's stern words and a colorful pamphlet are? Talk about a personal responsibility deficit.

Especially in more conservative jurisdictions, a perceived lack of personal responsibility on the patient's part can heavily influence a jurors' desire to award money.

Med Mal Stat: Parents with Children Living at Home More Likely to Find for Plaintiff

Every medical malpractice lawyer will tell you cases involving an injured or deceased infant can be extremely difficult to defend--even when the medicine is solid. Sympathy and the subsequent desire to award money--regardless of circumstance--can override many jurors' rational thought process.

We've seen jury instructions openly ignored (and jurors finding no evidence of negligence change to a plaintiff verdict) due to an intense desire to ensure the child is "taken care of."

This makes voir dire even more crucial. Because jury selection is really jury deselection, what types of jurors do defense attorneys most want to get rid of?

Parents. Especially parents with children at home.

In a recent analysis of 600 "bad baby" verdicts culled from our focus group database, we learned:

Parents were 53% more likely to find for the plaintiff than jurors who have no children.

For parents whose children live at home this figure jumps to 62%.

Obviously every juror is different (as are their tendencies to let emotions guide verdicts) but these statistics mirror a common finding we have observed in countless mock trials and focus groups across the country.

-Stephen Duffy

Meat + Booze + Cash = Marry a 14-Year-Old!

Straight from the oh-man-why-did-it-have-to-be-in-California file, CNN treats us to a story of a father, Jesus Martinez, who sold his underaged daughter's hand in marriage to an 18-year-old boy in exchange for cash, tasty beverages and meat. (So that's what 14-year-olds are going for these days?)

That's not even the worst part. The worst part is the future son-in-law, who had already absconded with the minor Martinez, couldn't even come up with that pitiful dowry! An irate Mr. Martinez called the cops, and hilarity ensued.

Marcelino de Jesus Martinez, 36, of Greenfield, California, was arrested Monday and booked into the Monterey County Jail, Greenfield police said in a statement.

Martinez had arranged through a third party to have his daughter marry the older teenager, identified by authorities as Margarito de Jesus Galindo, of Gonzales, California. In exchange, Galindo was to pay Martinez $16,000 and provide him with 160 cases of beer, 100 cases of soda, 50 cases of Gatorade, two cases of wine, and six cases of meat, Greenfield Police Chief Joe Grebmeier told CNN.

The official felony charge is "receiving money for causing a person to cohabitate." I presume California law doesn't have a provision for receiving carne asada.


But before your fervent head-scratching breaks the skin, we're told this is TOTALLY, COMPLETELY, 100% NORMAL in Mr. Martinez' hometown of Oaxaca, Mexico.

In Oaxacan culture, the food and beverages are provided by a prospective bridegroom for the wedding...

Who am I to argue with culture? And then there's this little gem:

Authorities believe the young girl went with Galindo willingly, and no coercion was involved, he said. However, the girl is four years younger than California's age of consent, although the law does allow 16-year-olds to marry with parental consent.

Wait, what? Is it just me, or is California slowly starting to become Florida?

And just in case people weren't satisfactorily nauseated, the article slips in this little nugget:

He said his department has long heard rumors of children as young as 12 being sold or offered for sale. The Greenfield police statement said arranged marriages between young girls and older men "have become a local problem."

Yeah, I'd say when 12-year-olds are getting hitched to adult males, "local problem" is a fair assessment.

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