By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When Trump associate Roger Stone was sentenced last month for obstruction of Congress and witness tampering, there was some pushback from media, Stone’s legal team, and the President himself targeting the jury’s foreperson, a focus of a recent post in this blog. As part of that pushback, we have seen some
Ask the Court to Help You Look for Stealth Jurors Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The art of training legal advocates has a long and honorable history. For example, the Socratic method used in law school is still an unbeatable way to teach critical thinking. But what about trial advocacy? On that score, many programs like NITA and some of our firm’s in-house programs have
Use B.A.T.A. to Get Better Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: “Love” may mean, “Never having to say your sorry,” but litigation does not mean that. In some defense cases, sure, what’s needed is an all-out answer that denies everything the plaintiff is saying. But in other cases, there might be something to apologize for. Consider, for example, a large corporation’s
Find Your Six Ways to Sorry Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Roger Stone has now been sentenced, following conviction on seven counts of obstruction, false statements, and witness tampering. But for the political fixer and his legal team, the fight isn’t over. In a recent motion, they argue for a new trial, claiming that the jury’s foreperson showed bias in being
Let He Who Is Without Bias Cast the First Stone Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: What makes an expert witness persuasive to a jury? Is it their background and training? The work that they did on the case? Their communication skills in teaching the jury? The research suggests that expert influence depends on a variety of factors, and a scale even exists to measure these
Experts, Know Your Eight Bases of Persuasion Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Imagine that you have in front of you a Bernie Sanders supporter or a Donald Trump supporter. Go ahead and pick whichever one of those is opposite your own political views. Now, convince them that they’re wrong. Assuming that they’re true believers, and not in any way on the fence,
Remember, You Can’t Refute a Bias Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The word “contagious” these days likely evokes fears of the rapidly spreading coronavirus. The concept has long been applied to cognitive biases, as well. Influential attitudes and experiences can also, like a virus, be spread through exposure, and that is often a concern during open voir dire, when prospective jurors
Consider the Contagiousness of Bias Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: “One of the saddest lessons of history is this,” Dr. Carl Sagan once wrote, “If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even
Teach Your Jury ‘Epistemic Vigilance’ Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Sometimes as a defendant, you find yourself in the position where you need to admit to at least some part of the plaintiff’s liability claim. The plaintiff really was injured, and there really was a step that was skipped on your end. While you still might have other claims, causation,
Voir Dire on Admitted Liability Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Watching a mock jury deliberate about damages can give you the idea that when it comes to numbers, jurors can be a little random. For example, a jury might see a big difference between $500,000 and $1 million in one moment, and then act as though there is little to
Add Numeracy to Your Jury Read More »