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Your Trial Message

(formerly the Persuasive Litigator blog)

Author name: ken.brodabahm

No Blank Slate (Part 2): In Closing, Treat Your Jurors as Instrumental Arguers

Adapting to Jurors, Closing Argument / /

By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – Your case has finally gone to the jury, and the panel is now ensconced in the jury room.  What are they doing in there?  Are they carefully and logically arguing the merits of your case, considering all sides until the truth wins out?  If you have ever watched a closed-circuit feed of mock jury deliberations, […]

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No Blank Slate (Part 1): In Opening, Treat Your Jurors as Motivated Reasoners

Adapting to Jurors, Opening Statement / /

By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – The Plaintiff’s opening statement in the medical malpractice trial began predictably:  This is a case about “incompetence,” and “arrogance,” and “dangerous decisions,” jurors heard.  But rather than fostering even an initial leaning against the doctor, this message brought about a defensive response.  Jurors were left feeling that all their stereotypes about medical lawsuits and

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Guess You Had to be There (Prefer Present Witnesses Over Absent Ones)

Expert Witnesses, Testifying Effectively / /

By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – The recent trial involved two New York City police officers accused of raping a fashion executive, after helping her out of a taxi at the end of a night of drinking.  Without physical evidence (the department’s search of the apartment yielded nothing, and the accuser herself had showered), the case depended

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When Arguing Damages, “Drop Anchor” Even in Murky Waters

Adapting to Jurors, Damages / /

By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – This blog frequently covers recent psychological or communications research bearing on legal persuasion, and an important question is how well results hold up when leaving the laboratory and entering the courtroom.  One example is the phenomenon of damage “anchoring,” or the advantage gained when one side offers an ad damnum number as a starting point for jury deliberations. 

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Remember in Court, If You’re in View, Then You’re on Stage

Adapting to Jurors, Testifying Effectively, Visual Communication, Witness Preparation / /

By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – During a recent trial, a witness was about to leave the stand as a slip of paper with a question emerged from the jury.  The note was enough to make the examining counsel’s blood run cold, as the juror asked the witness, “Isn’t [your attorney] signalling you on how to answer by nodding his head to indicate ‘yes,’ or ‘no’? 

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Keep Your Witness Out of the Woodshed

Expert Witnesses, Witness Preparation / /

By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – The term “woodshedding” as applied to a witness has a colorful history, starting with the notoriety of a small structure just outside the colonial courthouse in White Plains, New York, where attorneys would meet with witnesses just before coming in to court.  As used today, “woodshedding” basically means telling witnesses, fact

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Get the Gist of How Jurors Decide Damage Numbers

Adapting to Jurors, Comprehension / /

By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm –   “Well…let me just throw a number out to get us rolling: Five million dollars!” (Recent mock juror quote) Juror damage awards can seem erratic and inexplicable, not only to the public, but to experienced litigators as well.  Particularly when jurors are valuing something other than a concrete expense by assessing non-economic

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