By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Social scientists who measure public opinion for a living tend to love forced choice questions. By asking respondents whether they “support” or “oppose” an increased military response in Syria and Iraq, for example, you avoid having too many go for the soft squishy middle of being “not sure.” Of course […]
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Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Last week saw the killing of 14 and the wounding of an additional 21 in San Bernadino by a County Health Department employee. He apparently left a company training event after some kind of argument, and later returned with his wife, as well as an arsenal of tactical military equipment. The event
Fight for Your Frame Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: “Earned Dogmatism” is a relative newcomer as an academic phrase, but it refers to the closed-mindedness that sets in once one dons the “expert” hat. While we like to think of experts as broad-minded, creative, and analytical, new research suggests that the “expert” label is more likely to induce a
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By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Without a theme, your case is just information: facts, claims, exhibits, instructions, and witnesses. It may be legally sufficient, but without a simple and central message to tie it all together, it is not persuasively sufficient. Experienced trial lawyers may be of one mind when it comes to the importance
The Right Theme? Look It Up in the Moral Foundations Dictionary Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Gone are the days when trial consultants were just jury-pickers. Today, your trial consultant — more broadly, a litigation consultant — is likely to offer a variety of services ranging, as we say, “From first filing to final appeal: “case assessment, strategy, witness preparation, mock trial and focus group research, and
Take Your Trial Venue’s Temperature: Seven Uses for a Community Attitude Survey Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: This past week, the nation has been locked in yet another moral argument that breaks along political lines: In the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris, should the U.S. accept Syrian refugees or not? Both sides are grounding their stances in moral argument, but those arguments diverge. One side
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By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When it comes to witness testimony, “rehearsal” is a dirty word. The term connotes that the witness is learning testimony by rote and has been spoon-fed by their attorneys. Liars rehearse their stories, the perception goes, while honest witnesses simply tell the truth.
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: According to the weather forecast, a pretty sizeable storm is headed to Denver. When this blog post goes to press, downtown Denver could be heading toward two feet of snow…or perhaps three inches, or nothing. Weather forecasts have a range of uncertainty. They’ve gotten better, and are no longer the
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By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When you’re a campaign front-runner, you can expect a little extra attention, and Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson is now finding that out. The controversy is based on claims that he received and turned down a scholarship offer from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Following some journalistic digging
Treat Memory as Reconstruction Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: As the potential jurors file into the courtroom, religious signs are often evident: crosses, headscarves, yarmulkes, T-shirts, religious books. Even without those explicit advertisements, religious views can often be inferred based on demographics, demeanor, or the venue’s statistics. Those religious beliefs can become an overt issue in voir dire in
Don’t Equate Religiosity and Morality Read More »