Dalton Law Office, PLLC

04/12/2026

Most people think that a trial in the courtroom starts when the first witness is sworn. It does not. Trial typically starts with voir dire.

Voir dire is the process of questioning prospective jurors before a jury is selected. It is where the court and the lawyers work to find out whether the people who may decide the case can actually be fair.

That is not a small thing. It is one of the most important parts of trial.

Jurors bring life experience, assumptions, and opinions with them into the courtroom. Sometimes those views are obvious. Often they are not. A person may honestly believe they can be fair while still holding strong views about criminal accusations, law enforcement, injury claims, medical treatment, or damages that can shape how they see the evidence from the very beginning.

That is why voir dire matters. Sometimes it begins with juror questionnaires. Sometimes it depends on careful follow-up in open court. Either way, the job is to uncover bias, test whether a juror can follow the law, and protect the right to a fair jury.

And that work takes skill.

A seasoned trial lawyer knows how to listen for what is being said—and what is not. They know how to spot subtle bias, ask the hard follow-up questions, and make a record when a juror should not be sitting in judgment of someone else’s case.
That is not showmanship. That is trial work.

Whether the case is a criminal charge or a personal injury claim, justice depends not just on the facts and the law, but on the fairness of the jury asked to apply them.

We are trial lawyers. We know our way around a courtroom, and we know that protecting a client starts before the first witness ever takes the stand.

10/04/2025

Goodbye, summer. Hello, slick roads.

The rain is back in Southwest Washington, and with it comes more rear-enders and intersection crashes. If you’re hurt in a collision, small steps at the scene can make a big difference later.

What to do if you’re in a crash:

- Safety first: move to a safe spot if you can and call 911 for injuries.
- Get names and numbers for everyone: drivers, passengers, and especially any good Samaritans who stopped.
- Ask witnesses if you can text them for a quick confirmation of what they saw.
- Take photos: vehicles, license plates, insurance cards, the intersection, skid marks, damage, traffic signals, weather, and your visible injuries.
- You can record info exchange on your phone if you’re transparent about it. If you’re in Washington, tell the other driver you’re recording and get their okay.
- Get a card or badge number from any responding officer.
- Seek medical care right away—even if adrenaline is masking pain. Aches, headaches, and stiffness often set in hours or days later.
- Consider reputable chiropractic care for whiplash-type symptoms and soft-tissue injuries; early, appropriate treatment can help recovery.

A few don’ts:

- Don’t argue fault at the scene. Stick to facts.
- Don’t post about the crash on social right away.
- Don’t skip care because you “feel fine.” Documenting symptoms early matters.
- If you are feeling "okay" don't persevere through the pain and then post on social media those "fun" activities that also hurt. Insurance defense attorneys love to use social media posts to argue that crash victims weren't really injured. Take care of yourself and if you are not "fine" you don't have to pretend you are.

If an insurer is already calling, get advice before giving a recorded statement. We help real people navigate this every day.

09/26/2025

Insurance Doctors in Personal Injury Cases

I’m thinking about insurance doctors in personal injury cases today. We deal with these so-called experts constantly. They are paid—often hundreds of dollars per hour, sometimes more than a thousand—to produce reports for insurers. The pattern is familiar: long documents that sound authoritative but work hard to minimize real injuries. Some insist no one needs more than six weeks of chiropractic care, regardless of the patient, the mechanism of injury, or the medical record in front of them. Others flood the page with citations and stray details to suggest exaggeration where there is none.

I’m not a medical doctor, and I don’t claim to be. What I do have is years of experience litigating these cases, studying the science, and working closely with qualified experts in the relevant fields. That combination lets me see where an insurance doctor’s story departs from the evidence. We bring in our own experts to scrutinize their methods, identify the gaps, and test each conclusion against the record and the literature. When you do that work carefully, a lot of confident statements turn out to rest on very little.

I’ve seen experts cite “studies” they can’t identify, lean on “authorities” that don’t support their point, and wander outside their competence to opine on specialties they don’t practice. I once cross-examined an orthopedic surgeon hired to criticize chiropractic treatment. He was evasive and preferred sound bites to answers. I didn’t let that pass. I asked about chiropractic medicine, his training, and his understanding of the science. The responses were preposterous. He ultimately admitted he didn’t view chiropractic care as legitimate medicine—an attitude that, unfortunately, some surgeons and physicians still hold.

We’ve seen how chiropractic care helps our clients, and great chiropractors have improved my own life. By the time I finished the deposition, opposing counsel asked whether I intended to move to exclude the surgeon’s testimony—because he knew his witness wasn’t qualified to give it. I have to admit, I really enjoyed pulling the mask off of that so-called "expert witness." Despite the satisfaction, moments like that aren’t about theatrics; they’re about accountability. These experiences make me feel great about the work I do in personal injury cases. Truth and science matter.

Expert work should be grounded in sound methods and actual data, not assumptions or convenient narratives. My clients are real people who were hurt by other people’s choices. Dismissing their injuries with boilerplate opinions doesn’t make those injuries disappear. At Dalton Law Office, we test the claims, check the sources, and follow the evidence wherever it goes.

I take this seriously because the stakes are human. And yes—I like to win. Not for the trophy, but because a fair result matters.

03/29/2023

I asked Chat GPT to argue against the position I outlined a few minutes ago... and it turns out, Chat GPT agrees with me. It responded:

"While Chat GPT is a remarkable technological advancement that can provide an innovative tool for lawyers, it is unlikely to replace the work of lawyers in the near future. The expertise and experience that lawyers bring to the table are essential in handling legal cases. As the principal lawyer at Dalton Office, PLLC, you have highlighted the fact that lawyers work with human jurors to tell real stories and help them understand complex legal issues. This is a task that requires more than just language proficiency, which is the main strength of Chat GPT. Lawyers bring their years of experience in interacting with clients, judges, and other stakeholders, which enable them to understand the nuances of human nature, personalities, and the legal system.

Moreover, the legal profession is not just about language proficiency and knowledge of legal precedents. It involves emotional intelligence, empathy, and a deep understanding of human interactions. Lawyers need to build rapport with clients and understand their needs, which is a task that requires human connection and sensitivity. While artificial intelligence may be able to generate responses to specific legal queries, it is unlikely to understand the underlying emotions and motivations of clients, which is essential in providing effective legal counsel.

In conclusion, while Chat GPT can enhance the work of lawyers, it is not a substitute for the invaluable experience and expertise that lawyers bring to the table. The legal profession is not just about language proficiency and knowledge of legal precedents, but also about empathy, human interaction, and emotional intelligence. Therefore, it is unlikely that artificial intelligence will replace lawyers anytime soon."

Hmmmmm......

03/29/2023

As the principal lawyer at the Dalton Office, PLLC, I have been closely monitoring recent developments in artificial intelligence, particularly in the emergence of Chat GPT. It has certainly generated excitement and speculation about the possibility of artificial intelligence replacing lawyers. As a lawyer who has regularly embraced modern technologies in my work, however, I have become well-versed with Chat GPT and have explored its potential as a tool to enhance our work. While Chat GPT exhibits an unusually sophisticated command of language usage and grammar, and can generate simplistic explanations of well-understood topics, I believe that it will be a long time before it can replace the work of lawyers. Lawyers bring to bear countless hours of reading, writing, speaking with clients and judges, knowledge of human nature, personalities, the inner workings of the human mind, and an understanding of the legal process and human interactions that cannot be replicated in a database. This wealth of experience is irreplaceable. As trial lawyers, we work to tell real stories to human jurors and to help them see truth and reality. This is an incredibly complex endeavor. While it is conceivable that a robot, like Star Trek's Data, could someday gain similar experiences, for now, Chat GPT remains an innovative and interesting tool that can enhance our work. Nonetheless, I do not foresee artificial intelligence replacing lawyers anytime soon.

By the way, I used Chat GPT to clean my original draft of this note, just for fun. It took me a couple tries to get it to do what I wanted, without changing the meaning, or removing ideas. Then, I had to edit the final product some more. Although I find it does some cool things, and may well enhance my legal communications, Chat GPT still needs me to give it substantive content, legal analysis, and to control input to protect client confidentiality.

We are looking forward to growing into and with these strange new worlds and times and to continuing to provide vital services to real people. We are real lawyers, helping real people.

05/13/2020

Lawyering during the COVID-19 crisis means we are all adjusting to rapidly changing circumstances. Most court hearings have been pushed out or converted to telephonic or video appearances. Some courts have rolled out their systems already and we have had successful appearances by telephone or other electronic systems. Some are still working through the challenges. We are staying in contact with court clerks on our cases and constantly updating our calendars.

We are doing our best to implement social distancing and still serve our clients needs during this difficult time... because your legal needs don't just go away because the world is locked down. We are still here for you, doing our best to help you through your personal, legal challenges. We wish you the best and, above all, good health.

04/07/2020

During these challenging times, we are still here to help with your legal needs. To better facilitate social distancing and protect clients and staff, we are available for telephone and video appointments. We wish you and yours good health and all the best during these trying times.

04/18/2019

Safeguarding the rights of others is the most noble and beautiful end of a human being.

Khalil Gibran

Some of us do feel this in our hearts. This is my fight.

03/19/2019

03/12/2019

The Washington licensing authority appears quick to criminalize licensed growers. It’s one of the few businesses where rookie mistakes can cost someone a felony conviction.

It's almost as if the legalization of ma*****na in Washington state didn't really change perceptions among some people. At least that's the gist of a...