By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: 2016 will be remembered as the year the polls and the pundits were wrong. After enjoying a relatively clear lead in the polls throughout the election, and being predicted as the winner by previously credible poll aggregators like the Huffpolster and Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight blog, and after the majority of talking […]
The Trumpening: Take Some Lessons from an Unexpected Election Result Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: We have finally, some would say ‘mercifully,’ arrived at the end of the 2016 presidential campaign. But not before one last surprise: Just eleven days before election day, and as millions of Americans were already voting early, FBI Director James Comey notified Congress of the discovery of additional emails that “appear to
Shine a Light on Black Box Evidence Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It usually happens about five minutes into a corporate defense opening statement: the “good company” story. Jurors will hear about the history, moral commitments, and good works that this company does within the community. This “Corporate Social Responsibility” or “CSR” message is a staple for some attorneys, but does it really
Refine Your ‘Good Company’ Story Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Witnesses who are new to the demands of deposition or trial testimony sometimes have the misperception that testifying is just a matter of getting past each question as it comes. Seeing it as a kind of a quiz, the witness thinks the examining attorney just has a collection of questions, each one
Witnesses: Fight on the Bottom Rungs Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Have you ever had the same advertisement chase you around the internet? So you looked at that new suitcase once, and now it is popping up on every page you view. That effect is one part of our current world, where marketers and other persuaders seem to know more and more
Consider the Small Chance that “Big Data” Might Pick Your Jury Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Every lawyer who has ever met with a witness to prepare that person for testimony has probably stressed the ability to be calm and focused while testifying. And after meeting with a great many future witnesses over the years, it’s possible to arrive at the feeling that some witnesses have that ability and
Find a Mindful Way Out of the Stress of Testimony Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Some computer scientists recently had to get creative about creativity. The researchers (Jordanous & Keller, 2016), from the Universities of Kent and Sussex in the UK, have been looking at computer-based intelligence, and specifically the ways computers can be assessed as exhibiting creative behaviors or not. Of course, that is what makes
Be Creative (in All 14 Ways) Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It is a situation where the common sense advice is in conflict and the platitudes can go both ways: Don’t keep your light under a bushel, but pride goeth before the fall. Practically speaking, do you boast about your abilities, or to you keep it humble? For a witness in court,
Brag Your Competence, But Not Your Character Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: This past Tuesday, it was time for the 2016 campaign’s vice presidential debate pitting Republican Mike Pence against Democrat Tim Kaine. Broadly, the vice presidential comparison does not matter too much, because people tend to vote based on party and based on the person at the top — not so much
Be a Good Second Chair: Notes from the Veep Debate Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: You may have seen the video called “Order in the Classroom.” The piece, the work of the National Jury Trial Innovations Project, offers a quick and humorous take on what a college course would look like if it were run with all of the constraints of a trial. In the video, the
Let the Jurors Take and Review Notes Read More »