TRIALS, VERDICTS & APPEALS #Trial Advocacy

An injury case arising from a collision on Interstate 84 in Jerome County, Idaho. The defense offered approximately $72,000 before suit. Bill Smith and Joe Horras tried the case to a Jerome County jury, which returned a substantial verdict for their client. After prejudgment interest, attorney fees, and other amounts awarded by the court, the resulting judgment exceeded $760,000. Bill and Joe later taught the case and its trial lessons to other plaintiffs’ lawyers through Idaho Trial Lawyers Association and later through Trial Lawyers University.

In March 2026, Bill Smith tried a hospital security and use-of-force case to an Ada County jury. After four days of trial, the jury returned a 9–3 defense verdict on the fifth day. Although the case did not end with the result we sought, it gave our client the opportunity to tell her story, challenge an institutional account of what happened, and have her evidence heard by a jury. The trial reinforced an important lesson: sometimes the value of a courtroom is giving a person the opportunity to finally be heard.

In May 2024, Bill Smith served as first-chair trial counsel in McCrady, a personal injury jury trial in Ada County, Boise, Idaho, before District Judge Steven Hippler. Joe Horras and Ellen Smith assisted at trial. The case involved a low-speed motor-vehicle impact and primarily chiropractic treatment. The jury returned a verdict consistent with the nature and extent of the injuries presented.

In September 2007, Bill Smith tried Pfeifer v. Covino to a jury. The case involved a pair of difficult defendants who vigorously contested the claims against them. The jury returned a complete verdict for Smith's client, awarding every dollar requested. The court subsequently awarded attorney fees. In an unusual coincidence, Smith was selecting the jury in Pfeifer while the jury in another of his cases, Hedges v. Hessing, was deliberating and returning its verdict.

In September 2007, Bill Smith tried Hedges v. Hessing, a contested civil jury trial involving competing claims and counterclaims. Facing an opposing lawyer with decades more experience, Smith tried a credibility-driven case that resulted in a mixed verdict. The Hedges jury returned its verdict while Smith was already selecting the jury in his next trial, Pfeifer v. Covino.