By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: I regularly interview jurors after a trial, and nearly every time, the former jurors that I speak with see their time in the box as a worthwhile experience. Eight million Americans report for jury duty each year, and while there are definitely complaints, a consistent theme is that upon completing their […]
Support a Jurors’ Bill of Rights Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When it comes to memory and attention, goldfish get a bad rap. It is said that they can only keep a thought in their heads for such a short span that the little plastic castle must be a surprise every time they see it. In truth, research shows that goldfish
Account for a Vanishing Attention Span 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: 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. 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: Flip a coin, roll the dice, pick a number, throw a dart — there is no shortage of metaphors for the perceived randomness of juries. That belief that “anything can happen,” is applied to some extent to the whole jury model, but nowhere more so than on the topic of
Make Your Damages Numbers Meaningful Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: There’s a movie currently in the theaters called “Inside Out.” In the animated film, pyschological drives are personified as characters – joy, anger, disgust, fear, and sadness – all in charge of navigating the mental experiences of the main character, an 11-year-old girl. Beyond being a bit of entertainment for
Design Your Metaphor Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Based on recent events, we are still a long way from Dr. King’s dream of a nation where his children “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” The horrific murder of nine worshipers in the Emanuel African Methodist Church in
Consider Character Read More »