By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: A newly-published study about the effects of voir dire in capital cases suggests that social scientists and the courts may need to reconsider a long-held tenet. For at least the past 35 years, the belief has been that jurors exposed to the process of jury selection in capital cases, known as […]
Voir Dire: Account for Both Presumptions and Expectations Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It is almost election time again. But the normally low-turnout midterm may not be in the cards this time around, owing to the outrage on both sides of the political spectrum. And some believe that it’s a shame that we have these levels of moral outrage: It diminishes our civility
Consider the Upside of Outrage Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: I think it is now possible to divide the #MeToo movement, so far, into two phases: Pre-Kavanaugh and Post-Kavanaugh. The cultural phenomenon of women stepping up to hold sexual harassers and abusers accountable has hit a roadblock. If the charges against Harvey Weinstein was the movement’s Battle of Austerlitz, then
React to the #MeToo and #HimToo Scripts Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It is one of those factors of advocacy that is understood at a basic level, but not practiced at an effective level: Structure. Whenever you are verbally presenting — opening statement, closing argument, oral argument, CLE’s — organize your content into clear and discrete main points. Litigators know that, of
Make It Chunky: Eight Best Practices for a Structure that Sticks Read More »
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
Explaining Probability? Use Frequencies Rather Than Percentages Read More »
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
Distinguish Between Bias and Belief Read More »
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
Consider More Paths Read More »
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
Understand the Memory-Encoding Role of Heightened States Read More »
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
Skip the Window Dressing (But Open the Window) Read More »
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
Expect Bias Against the Insurer Read More »