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
Use Moral Framing as an Argument Strategy Read More »
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
Fix Your Forecasts Read More »
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 »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The ability to remove a potential juror from your jury without giving a reason is precious…to trial attorneys and their consultants. To the extent the rest of the public is aware of peremptory strikes, however, they’re less likely to support them. At first blush, after all, the ability to prevent
Fight for Your Strikes Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Everyone has known one: A colleague or an adversary who uses anger as a communication strategy. Through aggressive words, shouting, or other group dominance behaviors, that person is able to get some (sometimes grudging) compliance from the rest of the group. And, more likely than not, that person is male.
Beware of Angry Men (But Angry Women, Not So Much) Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: I’ve been accused before of being in love with metaphors. From my debating days in school to my current authorship of this blog, I often find myself thinking, interpreting, explaining, and arguing through the use of parallel situations and analogies. It’s my bread and butter, you could say (sorry, couldn’t
Adapt to Your Metaphorically-Minded Juror Read More »