By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: America is not yet post-racial, and the Nazis marching this week in Charlottesville, Virginia should be a reminder of that. Continuing tensions on race are played out in courtrooms as well. The as-yet unresolved issues of racial bias in jury selection provide one example. Race-based removals impact the criminal sphere more than […]
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: For a practical persuader, one of the most disturbing features of some biases is their self-sealing nature. When an audience suffers from confirmation bias, for example, you would hope that they could be taught out of it. That is, if they’re primed to think that all big corporations are evil,
Fight Confirmation Bias: Consider the Opposite Read More »
by Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Among the readers of this blog, there are a few people who write to me and let me know what they think about various posts. Sometimes it is to applaud a post, or to share an example where they’ve faced something similar. And sometimes, it is to take issue with
I Could Be Wrong: Cultivate Intellectual Humility Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Jurors and judges sit in court and evaluate credibility. They continuously assess who is telling the truth and who isn’t. But what is the bias in those determinations? Lie detection itself is a notoriously uncertain ability, with confidence often high, but with actual ability tending to hover more around the
Expect Bias Statements to be Unreliable and Often Overcorrected Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Once, as I sat in a courtroom getting prepared to assist in picking a jury, the lawyer I was working with leaned over to say, “Make sure you have some reasons for strikes written down that we would be able to show the court.” My reaction? “Of course. All of my reasons
Be Prepared to Explain Your Strikes Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It has been one of the most enduring myths of voir dire and jury service generally: the idea that biases are personally known, readily admitted, and fully controllable. In order to prevent a biased juror from serving, let’s just ask them in voir dire if they’re biased, and then rely
Instruct Jurors on Unconscious Bias Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It’s an occupational hazard: If you’re a lawyer, then you’re going to hear lawyer jokes. One that I’m fond of is, “There is really only one lawyer joke…all of the rest are true.” That one was used successfully as an icebreaker in voir dire during a recent attorney malpractice defense.
Don’t Let Anti-Lawyer Assumptions Keep You Out of the Courtroom Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: President Trump is doing great, keeping all his promises, even as he is beset with interference from dishonest investigations. He is also failing horribly, embracing national callousness and international isolation while scandals drag his administration into chaos. Either can be treated as absolute truth, depending on who you’re talking to.
Adapt to Moral Division (Not Just Political Division) Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: We live in an age of wonders, and those wonders are making it into the courtroom. Attorneys can now display, slice, and dice their documents on the fly using sophisticated presentation software, or even their own iPad. They can show demonstrative exhibits created with the kind of cutting edge design
Go Ahead and Use a Flip Chart Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: This past weekend saw not just Earth Day, but also a nationwide “March for Science.” On Saturday, people across the country, and in some other parts of the world, turned out in order to show support for the role of science. The message behind these marches is distilled in a four-minute viral
Account for a Lost Faith in Science Read More »