By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Seems like Americans have had it with powerful institutions lately. The organizations that have long structured our civic life have reached new lows in terms of trust, and this applies to many that have historically garnered relatively high levels of confidence. Higher education is at a historic low, and trust in […]
Account for Broken Trust in Institutions Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: There is a perspective on juror attitudes that has been receiving some attention lately. “Safetyism” refers to an individual’s tendency to not merely prefer safety, but to demand unrealistic standards of protection — no errors, no risk of injury, no chance of a bad outcome, no ‘safe level’ of a contaminant,
Counter “Safetyism” With Realism Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: I suspect there has never been any great love affair between attorneys in general and the jury pool. Jurors know that lawyers are there to influence them toward a desired result, and that’s typically met with suspicion. Similarly, corporate defendants also don’t tend to make a jury’s list of favorites. We’ve
Lawyers and Corporate Defendants – Expect a Little More Hostility from the Jury Box Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: It’s one of the central contradictions of the law: we ask for and expect neutral and unbiased decision makers…and then we end up using humans. Those human fact-finders are almost inevitably going to have an individual form of perception or some level of partiality or bias. When it comes to the
Assess and Address Bias Using Four Steps Read More »
By Ken Broda-Bahm: It hasn’t been the easiest year for America’s railroad companies. Last Fall, in the midst of an inflationary panic, a national rail strike threatened to disrupt the nation’s shipping system, before that was resolved through a combination of Presidential carrots and sticks. But that was all eclipsed just a few months later,
Expect Skepticism (and Some Support) for Railroads Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Everyone supports safety. The popular “Reptile” approach to trying plaintiffs’ cases is built on the strength of safety as a core value. It is a common sense attitude to prefers greater security over greater risk. But there is also an extreme version of that attitude – a version that tolerates zero
Voir Dire for “Safetyist” Attitudes Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Trump’s second indictment is now unsealed, this one framing 37 federal felony counts for willfully retaining classified records at his private residence, and for trying to obstruct the efforts of the FBI and others in trying to recover these documents. Predictably, the response from the former President’s supporters has been to
Fight False Equivalence (and Other ‘Low Effort’ Arguments) Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: It’s probably one of the most unfair biases, but also one of the most ingrained. Human beings prefer attractive people over unattractive people, and that is likely tied to our evolutionary biology. Referred to sometimes as “lookism” the bias confers a number of advantages on those who are socially perceived to
Pretty Persuasion: Treat Party or Witness Attractiveness as Part of Credibility Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: When it comes to sizing up our potential jurors, we are used to looking at their politics. Both conventional wisdom and practical experience suggest that conservatives are more likely to prioritize individual responsibility while liberals focus on social responsibility. That means that in many cases — not all, but many —
Assessing Your Jurors’ Politics? Look for Conspiracy Thinking As Well Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Trial lawyers arguably wear two hats. The first hat is that of the advocate — zealous, convinced, and laser-focused on their client’s best case. The other hat, though, belongs to the counsellor who assesses the case and advises the client — sober, grounded, and realistic. It takes the advocate’s hat to
Case Assessment: Check Your “Myside Bias” Read More »