By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: To jurors, most legal cases are unfamiliar by nature. Cases are about the agreement that jurors weren’t a part of, the product they never used, the employer they never worked for. And, more broadly, the cases often rest on bodies of knowledge and forms of thought that are almost entirely
Speak to Familiarity: Jurors Know What They Like, and Like What They Know Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: There are two theories fighting it out over what will happen once the pandemic fades. The first, — I’ll call it the “blip theory” — posits that we will simply go back to normal pre-pandemic times, with the lockdown’s aberrations being relegated to “I remember when…” stories that we’ll tell
Plan for a Hybrid Trial System Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Juneteenth is now a federal holiday, and even as many would prefer action on voting rights protection, equal access to education and healthcare, and police reform, the symbol is still important. It highlights both the progress and the work to be done on race in this country. In our courtrooms,
Voir Dire: Select on Attitudes, not Race Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Now that the coronavirus vaccinations are moving toward the point of critical mass, it might be safe to think back on the early weeks of the vaccines’ roll-out. At that stage, many health officials were emphasizing the limits of the vaccine. The message went sort of like this: “It’s no
Don’t Oversell Your Limits Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: A courtroom process is supposed to be formal and solemn. The habits of delivering justice in person, through decorum and civic ritual, are designed to evoke a deference to the rule of law. When conducted remotely using a platform like Zoom, however, it doesn’t always work out that way. A
Don’t Let Your Virtual Voir Dire Become a Circus Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: In complex civil litigation, there’s a lot to manage: a huge wealth of people, events, documents and detail to encourage your fact finders to know and remember. All of them, or nearly all of them, will be important. But some need to stand out. If you’re able to really nail
Make Your Key Facts Stickier: Five Ways Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The pandemic came upon us pretty quickly, and many of our essential social institutions, including the legal system, had to change just as quickly. The situation called for action, without a lot of time for reflection. Now, as we are swiftly reopening, that dynamic has changed: There is less of a
The Post-Pandemic Courtroom: Reflect on When Remote Court Still Makes Sense Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: As we enter Pride Month, it’s a good time to reflect on where we are. President Biden recently announced a renewed push for full legal equality for LGBTQ individuals, but that takes place against a background of continuing bias, including a new legal focus in many states on rolling back civil
Note the Progress and the Challenge in Courtroom Attitudes Toward Gay Litigants Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Critics of the jury system, or simply those who are nervous about taking part, will sometimes characterize a jury’s result as a kind of crap shoot. The feeling is that they’re inconsistent, and subject to the idiosyncrasies of group influence. “A jury can do anything,” I’ve sometimes heard counsel tell
Trust the Norming Effect of Deliberations Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Site visits can sometimes be a part of a criminal case — and predictably, jurors love them as much as school kids love field trips. It can also matter in civil cases, to see where the auto accident or the personal injury took place. But as helpful as these visits
Bring Your Jury to the Scene, Virtually Read More »