By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The current political campaign season is not just a source of entertainment or concern (depending on your level of seriousness about it); it is also a source of education on persuasion. One important new lesson comes from political consultant and public opinion researcher Mathew MacWilliams in a current essay in Politico. […]
Look Out for the Authoritarian Personality Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When you’re a campaign front-runner, you can expect a little extra attention, and Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson is now finding that out. The controversy is based on claims that he received and turned down a scholarship offer from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Following some journalistic digging
Treat Memory as Reconstruction Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The ability to remove a potential juror from your jury without giving a reason is precious…to trial attorneys and their consultants. To the extent the rest of the public is aware of peremptory strikes, however, they’re less likely to support them. At first blush, after all, the ability to prevent
Fight for Your Strikes Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Everyone has known one: A colleague or an adversary who uses anger as a communication strategy. Through aggressive words, shouting, or other group dominance behaviors, that person is able to get some (sometimes grudging) compliance from the rest of the group. And, more likely than not, that person is male.
Beware of Angry Men (But Angry Women, Not So Much) Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When we think about racial bias in the legal process, our first thought is likely to be of charging and sentencing in the criminal justice system, or based on the Black Lives Matter movement of recent times, we might think of interactions with law enforcement officers. Based on an innovative
Expect Racial Bias in Civil Damage Awards Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Once during oral voir dire in a commercial case, I listened as one potential juror noted his cynicism toward the civil trial process. “Rich people fighting over money,” he said. While that particular venire member may have been angling for a strike, and definitely received one, the comment does speak
Account for the Wealth Bias Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Another mass shooting at a school, this time at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. Another isolated and disturbed gun collector, and another set of victims to be remembered: nine in this case. In President Obama’s remarks, we see increasing frustration as he spoke of “more American families — moms, dads, children —
Note the Difference Between Tragedy and “Stuff Happens” Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: What a difference a little bit of time can make. In 1996, same-sex marriage was more likely to be the punchline of a joke than a serious policy position, and support hovered at just 26 percent of the American public. By the time the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell this
Learn From the Sea Change in Attitudes Towards Gays and Lesbians Read More »
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: As of posting time, seven African-American churches have burned down since the racially motivated murders in Emanuel African Methodist Church in Charleston, South Carolina two weeks ago. One of those fires may have been caused by lightning, but there’s a concern that others may have been caused by a belief – namely,
Don’t Treat Racism as Just a Belief Read More »