By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: It’s been a season of some firsts: An ex-President, and the leading candidate for a major party nomination, has been criminally indicted (twice so far), and found civilly liable for defamation (once and counting). Rather than mounting a substantive defense, the candidate and ex-official has used the remaining ‘bully pulpit’ to […]
Build Trust in Justice Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Trump’s second indictment is now unsealed, this one framing 37 federal felony counts for willfully retaining classified records at his private residence, and for trying to obstruct the efforts of the FBI and others in trying to recover these documents. Predictably, the response from the former President’s supporters has been to
Fight False Equivalence (and Other ‘Low Effort’ Arguments) Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Right now, we are in a liminal moment with technology. No, I’m not talking about the new Apple goggles, necessarily, but about seemingly sudden emergence of engines like ChatGPT, which have opened a lot of possibilities on where it is likely to go. The proverbial jury is out about how and
For Now, Treat AI as “a Good and Confident Liar” Read More »
Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: You’re in the first moments of jury selection, looking at the pool of fresh and still-unknown panelists. At this early phase, those who are talking or itching to talk are, without fail, those who want out: They’re self-employed, have significant work responsibilities coming up, are booked for an upcoming vacation, or all of
Pull Your Potential Jurors Out from under the ‘Blanket of Anonymity’ Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: It’s probably one of the most unfair biases, but also one of the most ingrained. Human beings prefer attractive people over unattractive people, and that is likely tied to our evolutionary biology. Referred to sometimes as “lookism” the bias confers a number of advantages on those who are socially perceived to
Pretty Persuasion: Treat Party or Witness Attractiveness as Part of Credibility Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: When it comes to sizing up our potential jurors, we are used to looking at their politics. Both conventional wisdom and practical experience suggest that conservatives are more likely to prioritize individual responsibility while liberals focus on social responsibility. That means that in many cases — not all, but many —
Assessing Your Jurors’ Politics? Look for Conspiracy Thinking As Well Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Here’s one area where there’s a conflict between social science and practical intuitions: Should the civil defendant offer their own damages number to anchor jurors on a lower amount? The social science on the subject is relatively clear: If the jurors get to the point of awarding damages, a lower number
Damages Defense: Carefully Set the Smaller Anchor Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: After threatening that me might end his musical career if the jury went the other way, popular musician Ed Sheeran can now continue his line of work. According to a federal jury in New York earlier this month, Sheeran’s 2014 song “Thinking Out Loud” did not copy the musical structure of Marvin
Take a Note from Ed Sheeran: Show, Don’t Just Tell Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: The importance of including graphics when presenting to a judge or jury is understood these days. Still, I think the design and execution of these graphics can be too often treated as an afterthought. Instead of using a timeline as a central and fundamental way of structuring the case for fact-finders,
Treat Your Demonstratives as Cake, Not Icing Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Negligence is supposed to be a determination of action, not intention. Looking only at outward conduct, jurors in a negligence case are typically asked to decide whether an act, or a failure to act, was reasonable, and in line with what reasonable peers would have done in a similar situation. The
Negligence Cases: Make Mental State Part of the Story Read More »