By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has picked his preferred insult for fellow GOP hopeful Jeb Bush. On at least six occasions over the past few days, the Donald has referred to the Jeb as a “low-energy person.” He doesn’t have strength, passion, or enthusiasm, Trump says, at least not so much […]
Don’t Be Jeb: A “Low-Energy Person” Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Of course I don’t mean that literally. Given the title and the content of this blog, it would be pretty ironic if I took a dim view of persuasion. But others — consumers, jurors, and persuasive targets of all kinds — do take a dim view of persuasion. They want to
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: At a time of heightened attention toward the disproportionate impact of law enforcement on African-American communities, it matters that prosecutors in many of the same communities appear to be actively limiting the participation of African-Americans on juries. In an illuminating new article, the New York Times reports on a study of strikes
Select Your Jury on Race-Neutral Criteria Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Here is a quick quiz. Who is more likely to guess or speculate about something they don’t know, a novice or a trained expert? While we would like to think that the uninformed novice is more likely to make things up, the surprising answer is that it’s actually the expert.
Experts: Stay in the Box Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: By all accounts available so far, deliberations in the trial of James Holmes, the gunman in the 2012 movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, ended without conflict, regrets, or recriminations – at least on the part of the jury. But their deliberations didn’t end on a point of agreement either.
Build Resistant Jurors: Lessons from the Aurora Theater Trial Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Pick a trial venue in the United States, grab the average citizen who shows up for jury duty and put them next to the average attorney: What will stand out most immediately are the differences. Comparing education, social class, linguistic ability, habits, and a bevy of other qualities, you might
Be Real: Seven Ways to Humanize Yourself to Your Jury Read More »
By Dr. Shelley Spiecker: ‘Precious resource’ in the energy industry typically refers to a saleable commodity like a coal seam or shale play. Yet when an energy company finds itself in the courtroom, it is not coal nor shale, but industry-friendly jurors that are a ‘precious resource’. I recently spoke at the Rocky Mountain Mineral
Protect Your Precious Resource — Energy Industry-Friendly Jurors Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: How good are you at knowing when people are telling you the truth and when they’re lying? Generally, I’d wager that the average person probably thinks they’re better than average. And those who are self-styled experts or who have undergone training in lie detection likely believe that they have a
Expect Your Jury to Be a Pretty Good Lie Detector Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Some observers didn’t think it possible, but here we are: Currently sitting pretty at the top of the polls for the GOP Presidential Nomination for 2016 is…Donald Trump. The businessman, real estate magnate, reality show M.C., and general “Tell it like I see it” personality is currently polling at close
Don’t Be Seduced by a Cheering Minority Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: As of this post’s press time, the National Registry of Exonerations shows the number 1,625. Those are the documented ones, at least, marking the number of people convicted of serious crimes who have been later shown to be not guilty. As our understanding of the prevalence of wrongful convictions grows, scholars and
Don’t Blame Juries for Wrongful Convictions Read More »