By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: I’ve shared before on these pages that I decided to learn music at an age where most people have either mastered their musical instrument or made peace with their inability to play one. Prompted by my daughter’s interest, I decided to have a go at guitar a few years ago, and with […]
Find the Music in Your Theme Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Recently, I was running a mock trial exercise with three retired judges. Reviewing the testimony, one shared a skepticism toward the “hired-gun” engineers they had heard, and opined that what is “more important is the intuitive sense about the nature of this subject area.” The other two judges quickly nodded
Experts: Be Experienced, Confident, and Visual Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Your opening statement is a lot of firsts. It’s the first opportunity for your judge or jury to hear the story; the first opportunity to hear a preview of your evidence and argument; the first opportunity to see you on your feet as an advocate for a sustained period of
Open for Business: Top Posts on Opening Statement Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: What do we expect of our leaders? If you think about it in a political context, and if you get past your initial cynical thoughts about self-interest and corruption, then perhaps what you hope for is that our leaders make decisions with us in mind: that they think about what
Expect Jury Leaders to Act as Individuals, not Representatives Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: We all recognize the scene from a crime drama. Sometime late at night, under the dim lights of the state’s forensic lab, the results emerge from the sophisticated lab equipment: It’s a match! There is now no doubt whatsoever that we’ve found the killer. In the genre of criminal process
Measure Your CSI Effect Read More »
by Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Let’s say you’re a plaintiff’s attorney, and let’s also say you have a particular niche in personal injury law: amusement park accidents. And, as much as you might feel that primal fear on the “Mind Eraser” high-speed roller coaster, amusement park accidents are actually pretty rare. Thanks to safety standards
Expect Threat Perception to Increase, Even as Actual Threats Decrease Read More »
by Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: So you are sizing up that potential juror, wondering what she is probably thinking about you, your client, and your case. You think, “African-American woman, lives in the city, works for the government…I’ll bet she considers my client to be just one more rich and out-of-touch corporation, abusing the people
To Understand Others, Rely on Conversation Not Speculation Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Who is a juror? Experienced legal persuaders know a juror isn’t just a passive receptacle for your arguments, and isn’t just an instrument, a route or obstacle to your preferred verdict in the case. Instead, a juror is fully human, a subject not an object, and possessed of their own particular
Address Identity and Not Just Belief Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: At the end of a two-week trial last Spring, in the case of Montone v. City of Jersey City, a federal jury awarded nine former city police officers $2.17 million in a dispute over promotions. Three weeks later, counsel for the city’s former police chief receives a letter from one of the jurors:
Don’t Gag the Jury (After the Trial) Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Canada has an odd system for determining juror bias in some cases. Referred to as a “trier’s process,” it involves the section of two jurors, who do not otherwise go on to become jurors in the case, but are instead charged with determining if the grounds for a challenge for
Discovering Bias: Dig, Don’t Bury Read More »