By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Cause challenges play an important role in jury selection. When a potential juror has an acknowledged barrier to basing their decision on a neutral understanding of the evidence and the law, they should not serve. However, when lawyers are exploring potential cause issues, I often see them taking an approach that […]
Follow Five Steps to a Successful Cause Challenge Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Will the individuals who serve on your jury be the same people they were before they were called for service and selected? Will they have the same mental habits and preferences they exhibit in their civilian lives outside the courthouse? Will they be the same people they portray themselves to be
Account for the Transformation of Your Jurors Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: America’s civil litigation system can sometimes look a little like class warfare. On one side — often, but not always the defense — there will be an organization and a group of individuals who enjoy substantially more wealth than those on the other side. So what do we think about the
Voir Dire on Attitudes Toward Wealth Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Government regulators can often play a role in civil litigation. In some cases, they’re involved as parties. More often, however, their role is as a proxy. In those situations, jurors might look at whether the defendant followed the regulations as a shortcut to determine whether the defendant acted reasonably or not.
Assess Regulator Credibility in Voir Dire Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: In Charles Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol,” the final act is brought by the spectral Ghost of Christmas Future who shows the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge the vision of those he mistreated in life celebrating his death after he is gone. This Christmas, that part of the seasonal story might be hitting
Account for the New Low in What Jurors Think of Health Insurers Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: As I write this, it is finally and mercifully Election Day, 2024. For many of us on the edges of our seats awaiting the returns, we might be considering the question, “What brought us to this?” The answer is that recent technological and cultural forces have powerfully changed American life in
Juror Polarization: As the Political Season Ends, Understand It’s Not Just a Season Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: I know, I know, there’s a very good chance that every election in your lifetime has been billed as the “most important election in your lifetime.” But when it comes to next week’s election, that hyperbole just might be justified — at least based on the way the country seems to
Trial Soon? Expect Some Jurors to Have Electoral Stress Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: With fewer than 30 days to go until one of the most pivotal elections in our history, do you believe the polls? Many would say “No.” Even when our favored candidate is ahead, we all seem to believe that there is some built-in error in the surveys. People aren’t always willing
Expect Jurors to Censor Their Opinions Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: It has become more commonplace to hear talk about a future of litigation without peremptory strikes. After all, Arizona in 2022 was the first state to eliminate strikes in all cases, and it may not be the last. California and Washington have moved to revised schemes for exercising strikes, relying not
Fight (Constitutionally) for Your Peremptory Strikes Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: The Reptile approach to courtroom persuasion aims to sell plaintiffs’ cases by invoking absolute duties for protection wrapped around a fear appeal that resonates with the jurors. Even with the Reptile’s ‘reboot’ version, the ‘Edge’ training appears to continue this emphasis. In a second part of an article in the CLM
As the Reptile Evolves, Update Your Understanding of ‘Duty’ Read More »