By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: What do your potential jurors think about the necessity to follow the law at all times? While it won’t apply in all cases, it will apply to many. Recent protests against police brutality across the country have led to scores of non-violent protestors being arrested for crimes such as “failure […]
Voir Dire on Civil Disobedience Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When jury trials start up again, one way or another, it is going to be a strange and potentially uncomfortable experience for the jurors. If reporting in person, they will be dealing with distancing, masks, temperature checks, hand washing and a risk of infection. Alternatively, if they are logging in
Voir Dire on Willingness to Serve Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Okay, my title is purposefully provocative, but it is not an exaggeration. Based on a recently released, first-of-its-kind, comprehensive study on the effectiveness of voir dire following common practices in civil trials (Campbell et al., 2020), the verdict is that voir dire is often of no value when it comes
Treat Truncated Voir Dire as Useless Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Might a fear-based strategy have greater purchase in the present pandemic climate? People are certainly feeling scared and vulnerable these days. Even as states begin to relax the coronavirus stay-at-home restrictions, the death toll continues to climb and a solid majority of the American public is not at all eager
Prepare for the COVID Reptile Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: As the national and international coronavirus crisis is still moving toward its peak, one of the few bright spots has been hearing about the daily acts of support for the many medical professionals who are on the front lines of combat. People and restaurants have been cooking and donating meals, factories
Expect Some Favoritism for Those on the Front Lines Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Roger Stone has now been sentenced, following conviction on seven counts of obstruction, false statements, and witness tampering. But for the political fixer and his legal team, the fight isn’t over. In a recent motion, they argue for a new trial, claiming that the jury’s foreperson showed bias in being
Let He Who Is Without Bias Cast the First Stone Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Imagine that you have in front of you a Bernie Sanders supporter or a Donald Trump supporter. Go ahead and pick whichever one of those is opposite your own political views. Now, convince them that they’re wrong. Assuming that they’re true believers, and not in any way on the fence,
Remember, You Can’t Refute a Bias Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The word “contagious” these days likely evokes fears of the rapidly spreading coronavirus. The concept has long been applied to cognitive biases, as well. Influential attitudes and experiences can also, like a virus, be spread through exposure, and that is often a concern during open voir dire, when prospective jurors
Consider the Contagiousness of Bias Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: “One of the saddest lessons of history is this,” Dr. Carl Sagan once wrote, “If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even
Teach Your Jury ‘Epistemic Vigilance’ Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Sometimes as a defendant, you find yourself in the position where you need to admit to at least some part of the plaintiff’s liability claim. The plaintiff really was injured, and there really was a step that was skipped on your end. While you still might have other claims, causation,
Voir Dire on Admitted Liability Read More »