News

High drama, high stakes in store in malpractice case

Dr. Michael Rosner (left) confers with defense attorney Scott Stevenson. Plaintiff Billy Justus leaves Henderson County Courthouse with attorney Wade Byrd.

By Bill Moss, Published: August 10, 2014

A Henderson County native who looks and sounds a bit like the legendary folk guitarist Doc Watson, Zoro Guice tends the slow-grinding wheels of justice with a steady temperament and generous servings of humor and country wisdom. Last week, he threatened to resort to "a Woodrow Jones statute" to seat a jury — a reference to a stern federal judge and Zoro Guice mentor known to order bailiffs to pick up citizens off the street to fill a jury pool.
Judge Zoro GuiceAlthough the trial will inevitably involve long hours of tedious and technical testimony about the need and reason for a cervical laminectomy and subocccipital craniectomy, it is also expected to bring moments of drama, epic legal combat and impressive lawyering. When it comes to courtroom drama, even jury selection did not disappoint.
One prospective juror from the jury pool was brought into the courtroom suffering from a near fainting spell from a diabetic episode. The juror, seated on a back bench of the courtroom, was attended by a bailiff while EMTs made their way upstairs.
"Given that she's about to receive medical attention, do we want to be here as spectators or do we want to go somewhere else?" Jackson asked Guice. His honor scoffed.
"I've been a spectator for everything," he said. "I was a spectator when a judge died in the courtroom."