Roland Sandidge v. Salen Offshore Drilling Company, Salen Protexa Drilling Company

In this appeal, we must determine whether the district court erred in not permitting the defendant-appellant’s counsel to ask during voir dire if the prospective jurors would give more weight to a videotaped deposition over a written deposition; whether the court’s comments regarding the videotaped deposition constituted an abuse of discretion; and whether the court’s instructions on aggravation constituted reversible error as involving an impermissible comment on an ultimate issue of fact. Resolving each of these issues in favor of the plaintiff-appellee, we affirm.

I

On December 28, 1980,…