By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: As the question hangs in the air, you can see the tension working on the witness. Her face screws up, she looks at the ceiling, tenses her shoulders, and delays. As you call for a time-out in the preparation session, the witness blurts out, “What should I say? I don’t know
If You Don’t Know the Answer, Then That’s Your Answer Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Law schools don’t necessarily teach you how to try a case, or cover all the areas of law you’ll need to know in your niche. But by all accounts, they do a very good job of encouraging students to “think like a lawyer.” That means thinking systematically, analytically, and logically. So when
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The potential ability of jurors to pose a question to a witness by submitting that question first to a judge is a trial feature that always comes up in discussions of jury trial innovations and experimentation. But at a certain point, we really have to stop calling it an “innovation” or
Listen to Experience on Juror Questions Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: By this point, most of us have heard of Martin Shkreli, the former CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals. Social media has dubbed him the “Pharma Bro” after he acquired the drug Daraprim, an antiparasitic often used to treat AIDS victims, and promptly raised the price from $13.50 to $750 per pill. For
Wipe That Smirk Off Your Face Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: A popular focus in the polling for the presidential race right now is to ask about the various potential general election match-ups: What if it was Clinton versus Trump? Or Sanders versus Cruz? Clinton versus Rubio? Sanders versus Bush? As often as we hear that kind of data, professional pollsters
Be Realistic About Hypothetical Questions: Four Ways to Answer Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The time has finally come for the first votes to be cast in the presidential primaries: the Iowa caucus. That contest has historically proven to be somewhat unpredictable, even to pollsters, and with tight races on both sides, that trend is likely to continue. At this stage, public opinion trackers
Distinguish Between Attitude and Behavior in Voir Dire Questions Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It should have been big victory for social science in the courtroom: Noting that lay jurors tend to give eyewitness testimony in criminal cases far more weight than it deserves, psychological researchers weighed in with recommendations, and remarkably, judges actually listened. In July of 2012, New Jersey’s judiciary adopted new jury
Beware of Instructions that Highlight but Don’t Correct Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Consider these words through the lens of your case assessment leading up to trial: “People tend to be optimistic creatures, looking forward to a long life, imagining it full of pleasures and success, and savoring the achievements that are yet to come. Numerous writers have noted this to be a
In Settlement, Account for the Sobering-Up Effect Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The current political campaign season is not just a source of entertainment or concern (depending on your level of seriousness about it); it is also a source of education on persuasion. One important new lesson comes from political consultant and public opinion researcher Mathew MacWilliams in a current essay in Politico.
Look Out for the Authoritarian Personality Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: If you’ve seen the old film Ferris Beuller’s Day Off, then you remember one of my favorite scenes where the teacher, played by Ben Stein, attempts to cover U.S. economic history to a group of students who could not be more bored or disengaged. And they can hardly be blamed since
Energize Your Voice Read More »