By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The dramatic capture of Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev last Friday immediately ignited a debate on whether the suspect should enjoy the protections of the Constitution. Republican Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and Kelly Ayotte, along with Congressman Peter King, issued a joint statement applauding the initial decision not to Mirandize
Show Some Faith in the Jury System Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Last week in the U.S. Senate, a measure to require universal background checks on gun purchases failed to get the 60 votes needed to survive. The arguments supporting the common good of keeping firearms out of the wrong hands were, to 45 Senators, was not as strong as the individual rights
Speak to the Individual, Not the Common Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: This past Monday brought tragedy as bombs placed near the finish line of the Boston Marathon caused three deaths and hundreds of injuries. The attacks, at this point bearing the hallmarks of either an international or a domestic terrorist attack, have also reopened a wound in the national psyche, providing
Account for Mortal Thoughts After a Tragedy Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When I taught public speaking I’d ask students to picture an experiment. A group of people are being tested on their ability to shoot basketball freethrows, and they’re divided into subgroups (evenly matched on ability) and each subgroup prepares for the test differently. One group prepares by actually practicing with
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Fairy tales may not come true, but they may become the subject of withering cross-examination. In one of many “strange but true” moments during the Phoenix trial of Jodi Arias in the 2008 killing of her boyfriend Travis Alexander, prosecutor Juan Martinez and defense expert Alyce LaViolette sparred for over
Don’t Be Swallowed by Your Analogies Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: No shortage of discussion lately on gun control, with several states and the federal government considering limits on magazine size, which put a cap on how many bullets can be fired without reloading or changing the clip. But these are actually not the bullets I’m writing about today. Instead, my
Ban the Bullet (From Your Slides) Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: In this country, and particularly in some venues, our jury pools are becoming more diverse and more obviously multicultural (Marder, 2013). While the judiciary has been slower to reflect the face of a changing America (Ifill, 2009), it too is likely to include over time a greater proportion of those
Appeal to Both the Holistic and the Analytic Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: To supplement the written descriptions in the previous two entries, this post features a video demonstration designed to illustrate the approach to attorney-conducted oral voir dire that I’ve been writing about. Using a number of volunteers from my firm, I created this clip in order to show and discuss the
Practice the Pivot in Oral Voir Dire (Part Three): The Demonstration Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: If, by the end of oral voir dire, you’ve broken the ice, earned some credibility and rapport, learned the basis for at least a handful of cause challenges and strikes, and spent the balance of your time eliciting themes from jurors that help your case, then you’ve done your job.
Practice the Pivot in Oral Voir Dire (Part Two): Good Habits and Tricky Situations Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When voir dire goes well, it creates a balance between the goals of spotting the high-risk jurors and safely drawing themes from the more favorable jurors. At the same time, the questioning process should build rapport and feel natural to both the attorney and the panelists. When voir dire goes
Practice the Pivot in Oral Voir Dire (Part One): The Basic Model Read More »