By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Experienced trial lawyers know it is important that their witnesses are prepared to testify. At the deposition stage, and even when the likelihood of a trial is uncertain, it is critical to invest the time in making sure that the important witnesses know what to expect and are ready to go
Distinguish the Four Types or Phases of Witness Preparation Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Even if the pandemic is finally over, and even if it is the last pandemic we will ever experience — and both of those seem pretty optimistic — it is still worthwhile to study and to learn from the unprecedented adaptations we have seen the U.S. trial system make in
Know and Apply the Best Practices for the Online Courtroom Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: There was the childhood spent being a good student, then the hard years of college, and the even harder years of medical school, then residency, then years of building your expertise and your practice. Then came the event that many said was inevitable, but which you still thought you might
Account for Physician Litigation Stress Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Imagine you’re currently a citizen of the Russian Federation. The telephone rings, and the person on the other end of the line identifies themselves as a public opinion researcher, and they’re conducting a poll. “How do you feel about your country’s current ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine?” Well, given that
Avoid Social Desirability Bias in Voir Dire: Six Tips Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When a juror looks at an act and declares it to be bad or good, where is that coming from? Well, hopefully, it is coming from the evidence. But inevitably, it is also coming from that juror’s own habits of moral judgment. And it isn’t just a choice formed in
Liberal and Conservative Jurors: Account for Different Moral Systems Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: As you are putting on your case at trial, and you go to call your next witness, there’s always a reaction from the jury box. It’s an opportunity for fresh attention from them, but it is often a bit of a mystery: Who is this new person? What is their role
First Answer in Direct: Introduce Yourself to the Jury Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When thinking about the title for this post, I came awfully close to saying that certainty “matters more” than accuracy, but I thought that perhaps it might sound too cynical. But that stronger version is supported by the research: Jurors do seem to pay more attention to witness certainty than
Witnesses: Know that Certainty Matters as Much as Accuracy Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: If you remember even a few images from kindergarten, you probably remember the time when your teachers would lay out the mats — that was the cue that it is naptime. One might say that the similar cue in a courtroom is when one side or the other cues up
Play Recorded Testimony Without Creating Courtroom Naptime Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Once the cases are both in, the witnesses are all examined and, the evidence is before the jury, it is time to close, and for many attorneys, that means ramping up the emotion in order to commit jurors to your position. The exact tone you’re going for is going to
Show Some (Authentic) Anger in Closing Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It sometimes happens in the course of testimony: After what might have been a longer or misdirected answer, the witness will receive a stern admonition from either the questioning attorney, or worse, the judge: “Please listen carefully to the question and then simply answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’” That kind of
Witnesses: Protect Yourselves Against the “Just Answer Yes or No” Instruction Read More »