By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It’s a pretty odd scenario, and one we don’t face every day: “An out of control trolley is speeding towards a group of five people. You are standing on a footbridge next to a large man. If you push him off the bridge onto the track below, this will stop the trolley. He […]
Communicate Your Moral Principles Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The internet age has brought new tools but also new concerns to the task of jury selection. The ubiquity of social media and other forms of online presence has meant that lawyers, trial consultants, and other specialists now can and frequently do consider that information when selecting a jury. But that
Protect Juror Privacy But Don’t Ignore Public Information Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: I’ve shared on these virtual pages before that I am, at a slightly advanced age, learning to play guitar. From my early efforts I can report that, though I’ve advised on many patent cases, nothing I’ve encountered is as complicated as music theory for the guitar. I thought learning the
Theme Building: Amplify the Consonance and Mute the Dissonance Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It’s the political season, and many of us are closely watching the public opinion polls. It is interesting to see that sometimes big differences between polls are caused by small differences in wording. Do Americans “prefer,” “support,” “favor,” or “intend to vote for” a given candidate? Different words make for
Choose Your Words in Voir Dire to Regulate Expressions of Bias Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Attorney: “Number 14, would you say that you are biased against other people based on their race?“ Number 14: “Me? No. Definitely not. I treat people as individuals.“ I think we can all agree that this is strikingly ineffective voir dire. Research is building an increasing awareness that racism isn’t just
Voir Dire on Racial Bias Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: There comes a moment in each expert’s testimony where the actual opinions are delivered, and they’re always delivered with something like this build-up: “I can say to a reasonable scientific certainty that….” In physician malpractice cases, substitute the word “medical” for “scientific.” That is the legal standard, but what does that
Ask the Expert What Reasonable Certainty Means Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Last week, in a blog article in the Huffington Post, screenwriter and columnist Robert J. Elisberg shared his trial diary from a two-week workplace injury case against the retailer Cost Plus. His notes included this observation, which is worth quoting at length: One of the oddest things of all is that, very
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: In anyone’s preparation for an oral presentation of any kind, there is a gap between the time when you know what you want to say, and the time when you’re really ready to get up and say it. During that gap, the greatest imperative is to make yourself comfortable and
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The rational legal model would say that jury selection should work something like this: The attorney asks if any of the potential jurors have any current knowledge or views on the case or the parties. The question is purely neutral and doesn’t, in the process, give away any knowledge or suggest
Move Beyond the Myths of Voir Dire Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: All decisions take place in a context. Change the context, and you’re often able to change the decision. Sometimes, that context is situational, like the current political campaign which is increasingly, and disturbingly, spilling over into violence. And sometimes, that context is physical, like the actual polling location where folks
Account for the Priming Effect of Location Read More »