By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The 2020 election seems to be nearing the end of the vote-counting phase, with the final ballots in Nevada, Arizona, and Pennsylvania being tallied as I write. But one clear loser is already evident: the preelection polls. Public opinion estimates that showed Joe Biden with a commanding lead, even in […]
Don’t (Fully) Trust Public Opinion Polls Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: On the eve of the final voting day in the 2020 election, it feels like the calm before the storm. As divided as Americans are in these times, there are a few beliefs that everyone seems to share: Their candidate is ahead where it counts. Their candidate is generally popular,
Enjoy the Calm, Prepare for the Storm Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Trial lawyers work in words: language that is precise, economical, and influential. Those words are the water that litigators swim in, and for that reason, the absence of words can be a little uncomfortable. That can be an obstacle to using one effective technique in a variety of settings. That
Allow a Little Awkward Silence Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: A couple of months ago, I helped to run the Online Courtroom Project’s demonstration jury trial using Zoom. Like a number of other experiments and actual trials going forward across the country, jurors showed up via laptop and camera to view voir dire, openings, witnesses, closings, and instructions, then moved to
Appreciate that Your Jurors Need Informal Conversation Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: These are stressful times, and there are many reasons to expect that your jury pool in the near future is going to be a little stressed out. In the article, “The Pandemic Juror,” (Wilson 2020) a University of Tennessee law professor noted what many of us have observed: Jurors who
Understand Juror Anxiety Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The Reptile approach of trying plaintiffs’ cases by framing them in terms of personal safety is no longer a new idea. Plaintiffs’ attorneys are also less likely to treat that approach as a cure-all in every trial. But the Reptile’s themes and techniques are still there, having snaked their way
Confront the Reptile in Jury Selection Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It has been a tough year for science. On the social-science front, it seems that we have entered a phase where no one believes the polls. To conservative Trump supporters, the consensus of data showing the President well behind his Democratic challenger, even in Trump’s must-win swing states, just reflects
Address Science Denialism Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It is obvious that we live in a time of extraordinary polarization, and we are in the midst of an election that is bringing that schism into even starker contrast. Red and blue Americans differ in our demographics, our education, our policy commitments, and where we live. But perhaps we
Mind the Meta-narratives in Election 2020 Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Well, Wednesday’s Vice Presidential debate was more civil than the top-of-the-card match last week. It offered a more substantive comparison of positions, with the candidates on both sides looking mature, reasonable, and even presidential. That may be a good thing considering that the the President and his challenger are 74
Note the Challenges of a Black Female Advocate: Kamala Harris’ Debate Dilemma Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: So Donald Trump now has the coronavirus. As of press time for this blog post, he is fighting the illness from the Presidential Suite at Walter Reed Medical Center. It is news that struck many as both surprising and predictable: Surprising in the way that it has upended a campaign