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 »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: This past Friday and Saturday, June 26-27, an unusual exercise was held, exploring both the promise and the perils of a fully online jury trial. The Online Courtroom Project, which I am a part of, conducted an eight-hour exploratory trial on two web-conferencing platforms. There have been other demonstrations and
Online Trials: Expect Both Challenges and Opportunities Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Okay, my title is purposefully provocative, but it is not an exaggeration. Based on a recently released, first-of-its-kind, comprehensive study on the effectiveness of voir dire following common practices in civil trials (Campbell et al., 2020), the verdict is that voir dire is often of no value when it comes
Treat Truncated Voir Dire as Useless Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: With protests continuing in many major American cities, the civil unrest and violence has had a polarizing effect on the public. While some call for reform and for understanding of what motivates these marches, others call for a return to law and order, with force if necessary. If the past is a guide,
Prepare for (Psychological) Authoritarianism Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Take a moment and visualize what your next in-person jury trial might look like. The jurors arrive at the courthouse and have their temperature checked while being asked whether they or anyone in their household have been coughing, sneezing, running a fever, or showing any other symptom of COVID-19. They
Prime Your Jurors on the Pandemic, Make Them More Conservative Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It has long been an option, but it is happening quite often now: The judge lets you know that if you want to move your case forward, we will need an online hearing using Zoom web conferencing or similar media. The experience will not be as communicatively rich as an
Prepare for Your Zoom Hearing Read More »
The current coronavirus context has put some renewed attention on online research, or the idea that the “virtual mock trial” with jurors seeing presentations on their computer screens, and using keyboards and webcams in order to give feedback. While an online mock trial cannot fully replicate the in-person experience of courtroom persuasion, it does carry a number of other advantages. So, particularly in this time of reduced physical interaction but also at other times, it helps for attorneys to see the online mock trial as more than just an incomplete or diminished version of an in-person mock trial. There are some things that the online mock does better. In this post, I will share five of those advantages.
Appreciate the Advantages of Online Mock Trials Read More »