By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: This blog is dedicated to the proposition that those like me, who want to learn all they can about effective communication and persuasion, can take lessons from almost everything. Even the worst social situations can improve our understanding of the ways that people process information and reach decisions. The current […]
Treat the Pandemic as a Bias Laboratory Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: As you look out at a panel of potential jurors during voir dire, there are many things you’re likely to wonder about them. Do they have any attitudes toward your client, or people like your client? Are they likely to understand some complexity, or not? Do they support or oppose
Measure Your Juror’s Faith in the Jury System Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: In courtrooms making tentative steps toward reopening to in-person jury trials, some of the parties have called for increased use of juror questionnaires, ideally filled out ahead of time either by mail or online. This makes a great deal of sense in, at least, reducing the time spent during voir dire,
Juror Questionnaires: Expect Some Deception Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The current global coronavirus pandemic is a huge disruption to life in nearly every country and the explanations for it have gotten to the point that they’re as big as the disruption. Rather than believing that a virus in Southern China simply transitioned from an animal to a human host,
Account for Proportionality Bias: Big Events Must Have Big Causes Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: As the coronavirus pandemic drags on and intensifies, courts around the country are moving toward reopening in fits and starts, with distancing, temperature checks, masks, and hand sanitizer. Some courts are also exploring distanced alternatives, including in some cases trial by Zoom, or by other web-conferencing tools that allow jurors
Online Versus In-Person Deliberations: Consider Differences in Equal Participation Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: So your trial date has been kicked into indefinite future. Now, what do you do? Even as you reduce your time on the case, you still want to keep a foot in the door so that you are ready once things start moving again. Maybe it is time to take
Invent Your Trial Theme: Seven Ways Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: As a twice-weekly blog writer focusing on the social science of legal persuasion, I am thankful that during this medical emergency, the research has kept coming. Even as restaurants, bars, beaches, and schools have been shut down, the researchers have continued to turn in their research. In some ways, it
Scientific Testimony: Don’t Rely on Shortcuts Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: As a sign of just how serious the coronavirus pandemic is getting, the President has finally appeared in public with a mask. The precaution of wearing a face mask is still highly politicized, but it is slowly catching on. In the planning process of courts that are moving toward resuming trials,
Face It: Masks Don’t Hinder Credibility Assessment Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: What do your potential jurors think about the necessity to follow the law at all times? While it won’t apply in all cases, it will apply to many. Recent protests against police brutality across the country have led to scores of non-violent protestors being arrested for crimes such as “failure
Voir Dire on Civil Disobedience Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When jury trials start up again, one way or another, it is going to be a strange and potentially uncomfortable experience for the jurors. If reporting in person, they will be dealing with distancing, masks, temperature checks, hand washing and a risk of infection. Alternatively, if they are logging in
Voir Dire on Willingness to Serve Read More »