Jury Consultant Bob Hirschhorn said today that he was a part of the Robert Durst defense jury selection effort and that the defense utilized a shadow jury during the trial. The shadow jury came back with a "not guilty" after only one hour of deliberation--four days before the real jury did.

Shadow juries and mock juries are incredible assets to a defense team. They are also very expensive. In indigent defense cases, we can't think of any judge that has authorized the use of either.

We've sat through a few mock juries before our trials....we watched via a one way glass mirror as the jurors discuss the evidence in the case and our intended defense. They are a valuable tool in aiding the defense in determining whether a specific defense will gain traction or whether they need to change horses.

Bob Hirschhorn is one of the country's top trial consultants. He worked with Mike Tigar in selecting the federal jury in the Terry Nichols case. That jury came back with a life verdict instead of death.

We wish all our clients could afford trial consultants.