By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When you read a good novel, you sometimes can’t wait until it’s made into a major motion picture. While the scale might be smaller in the legal publishing world, the benefits of extending an initial vision are parallel. In this case, it is a great article that has now become […]
Empower Your Witness: A Review of “Reinventing Witness Preparation” Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The presence of more than one party on the defense side of the courtroom can create an interesting dynamic. In the heat of negative evaluation, it might be psychologically comfortable for some defendants to have company, creating the feeling that “we’re all in the same boat.” And, more practically, it can create
Beware of Joint Evaluation in Multi-Defendant Cases Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When advice is given on a general subject, it can sometimes sound a bit like platitudes. And, as with platitudes, it often seems like one cancels out the other. “Look before you leap,” the saying goes, but, “He who hesitates is lost.” The advice given to a witness before testimony
Find the Balance in Witness Preparation Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Given the nature of my involvement in cases, I’m not often present in the courtroom when the jury receives its instructions. But I remember one time that I was. As the judge read out the sections focusing specifically on the credibility of witnesses, I thought, “This is deeply misleading…if not
Instruct the Jury Accurately on Witness Credibility Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: There is an old saying attributed to Mark Twain, that “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting its shoes on.” Based on a recent large-scale MIT study, that turns out to be pretty accurate. The study, released this past week in the journal Science (Vosoughi,
Use the Features that Make the Fake News Fly Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: As a litigation consultant with an academic background, I am in a unique position: I stay abreast of the social science research (the blog schedule makes sure of that), but I also spend my days working with trial lawyers on the practical needs of cases going to trial. From that
Take a Second Look at Why Per Diem Damage Requests Work Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Her key witness is still on the stand. Direct examination went well, and now the other side’s cross-examination is just wrapping up. Standing up for redirect, the attorney looks at her notes: Coming out of cross, there’s a pretty long list of concessions, misleading answers, or unclear implications, and all of them need
Make Your Redirect Something Other Than a Repair Job Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Do you think you miss valuable information in voir dire? What about your friends and colleagues who are trial lawyers: Do you think they miss valuable information in voir dire? The first question is self-directed: It is asking about you. But the second question is what they call a “social-circle” question, asking about
Ask Social-Circle Questions Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: How do you protect yourself against the nasty flu that is going around this winter? Well, you can partially protect yourself with a vaccination. Introducing your body to a weakened form of the bug helps to build up your ability to resist when exposed to the real bug later on.
Vaccinate Against Bad Arguments Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Persuading a group that will then go off and deliberate is a unique persuasive setting. In a way, it can be called ‘Second Order’ persuasion, because it isn’t just about the person being convinced in the moment they’re hearing your case, it is about them being both convinced in that
Turn Your Passive Juror Into an Active Advocate: Seven Ways Read More »