In Ford Motor Company v. Duckett, [Ms. 1090833, Feb. 11, 2011] __ So. 3d __(Ala. 2011), the Supreme Court of Alabama reversed and remanded an $8.5 million jury verdict for the plaintiff. On the first day of trial, the trial court asked the entire jury pool for volunteers who would be willing to serve as jurors for a trial that could take three or four weeks. The defendant, Ford Motor Company, objected on the grounds that they were "entitled to a random selection of jurors from the entire venire." The trial court overruled the defendant's objection and a jury was selected from the group of individuals who volunteered. Ultimately, the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff. On appeal, the Supreme Court of Alabama held that the trial court had erred by denying the defendant its statutory right to a randomly selected jury. The Court reversed and remanded the case for a new trial.
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