Author name: ken.brodabahm

By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Jurors and judges sometimes need to understand testimony regarding probability. For a criminal jury, maybe that probability relates to the chances of a false-positive on DNA identification. In a products case, maybe it concerns a failure rate. In an employment discrimination class action, it may relate to differing hiring percentages. And […]

By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court just heard oral arguments seeking to overturn a drug-possession conviction in the case of Commonwealth v. Quinton Williams. The Defense had appealed based on the judge’s dismissal of one potential juror who shared a belief that the criminal justice system is unfair towards young black men. The juror reported

By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: “Should I Stay, or Should I Go,” ask The Clash. There’s a basic tendency to see our decisions in a binary fashion: There are two choices, and choosing one excludes the other. But for those seeking to understand and improve human decision-making, there are reasons to believe that this is not

By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: During Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony last Thursday to the Senate Judiciary Committee, at one point I imagined that millions of Americans were doing a double take at her use of the word “hippocampus.” When the witness was asked, as part of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings, what she remembers

By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It was an odd scene at last Thursday’s confirmation hearing. As the Senate Judiciary Committee held a special session to deal with late-breaking sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, the chair brought in a pinch hitter to handle the questioning on behalf of Republican members of the

By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It is an odd business relationship. As far as the customers go, they’re buying a service that they truly hope they will never need. For the companies, the ideal customer is the one they never meet, the one who pays their premiums, and then luckily avoids the reasons for having

By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: I like to scan the social science releases from ScienceDaily, and a new one caught my eye entitled, “What is the meaning of life? Ask a conservative.” The science discussed in this release shows that conservatives are more likely than liberals to view their lives as having purpose and meaning. The

By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The witness is somewhat slumped in the chair as the cross-examination bears down on him. As the defendant, he knows he is the focus, the civil law’s version of “the perp.” As he is confronted with each of the plaintiff’s accusations, and each of the expert witness’s criticisms, he is