A $2.5 million judgment against the state judiciary has been overturned in a disability accommodation suit where the plaintiff’s lawyer referred to defense experts as “hired guns” and showed the jury “inflammatory” cartoons.

A New Jersey appeals court tossed out the verdict based on an improper closing argument by attorney Elizabeth Zuckerman as well as errors on the verdict sheet. When lawyers for the state Administrative Office of the Courts objected to Zuckerman’s closing argument, the trial judge, Douglas Hurd of Mercer County Superior Court, denied their request for a mistrial, and instead issued curative instructions to the jury.