By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: All reasonable people think like you do. They will notice what you notice, perceive it as you do, find it credible, or not, like you would, and they will be persuaded, or not, in the same way that you would. Okay, give it a moment of thought and you wouldn’t […]
Don’t Fall for False Consensus Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: If you’re going to lose your case, how will you lose? What is the most likely scenario that would have the jurors going in the other direction? That question lies at the heart of a theme approach that I’d like to demonstrate via a short video (below) from a recent
Aim Your Theme at the Worst Case Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: O.J. Simpson became “more Black” after becoming a suspect in the murder of his ex-wife, and not just on Time Magazine’s infamous tinted cover photo. He also became “more Black” in the sense that the context of criminal charges made his race more saliant to most Americans. We have a
Treat Racism as Situational Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: As jurors in the trial I’m monitoring were dismissed for the weekend, the judge gave them the reminder: “Keep an open mind. Don’t come to any conclusions, just let it rest until all the evidence is in and the time comes for deliberations.” That plea to the jury reminded me
Don’t Expect Deferred Judgment: A Lesson from Bowe Bergdahl Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: I’m monitoring a criminal trial this week, and at the end of opening statements, the judge looked at the jury and said, “Okay, both sides have been referring to ‘AUSAs’ — they know what that means and I know what that means, but I’m guessing that you don’t know that
DUA: Don’t Use Acronyms Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: ‘Fairness’ can sometimes get an unfair rap. Take the tendency to think that jurors fall into two different camps: the law-oriented jurors who are analytic and reason-based, and the fairness-oriented jurors who are emotional and feeling-driven. Like most statements that begin with ‘There are two kinds of people…,” this one
Treat Fairness as a Reason, Not a Feeling Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Brothers Chip and Dan Heath’s Made to Stick book focused on what makes some ideas thrive and persist while other ideas die, and that idea itself has had some stickiness to it. I was reading an ABA Newsletter recently, and Trey Cox applied the idea to trial themes, arguing that in
Go for Sticky Theme Over Catchy Phrase Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: I’ve been fortunate enough to receive an advance copy of Richard Gabriel’s Acquittal: An Insider Reveals the Stories and Strategies Behind Today’s Most Infamous Verdicts, being released on June 3rd. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve made my way through what is now a notes-covered and dog-eared copy. I’ve read
Learn from High-Profile Cases: A Review of ‘Acquittal’ by Richard Gabriel Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: There is one topic that nearly always comes up in mock trial discussions: the McDonald’s hot coffee case. It can be a circumstance as distinct as a patent case, and at least one juror will somehow find a connection. When the discussion turns to damages — and especially punitive damages
Expect Jurors to Want to Follow the Money Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Let’s say that I’m testifying in trial? And that role has got me a little wary? And hesitant? So, those feelings leak through my non-verbal communication? And I start raising my pitch at the end of every sentence? My statements all start to sound as if they were questions? It
Avoid Rising Intonation? Read More »