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 »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Litigators are used to arguing, refuting, and persuading. When it comes to selecting jurors, they’re also used to uncovering bias. But what is “debiasing”? While my spellchecker continues to reject the term, academics have been applying and studying the concept for many years. It means reducing or mitigating the effects of a
Add “Debiasing” to Your Trial Communication Vocabulary Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Harvey Weinstein goes to trial this week. Out of approximately eighty women accusing the former Hollywood mogul of sexual misconduct over the past few decades, two assault cases will be heard by a jury this week in Manhattan. Jury selection for the case (set to take place on Tuesday) is
De-Stealth Your Potential Juror Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When you stand in front of a jury, laying out your opening story or closing your arguments, who are you talking to? “To the jury, of course.” Yes, but which jurors in particular? The conventional wisdom is that you should be talking to your tougher audience. In other words, in
Choose Your Persuasive Target Read More »
by Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When we engage in arguments, perhaps on social media or even around the table at Christmas dinner, it is easy to notice that there is something different about those at the extremes. Extremists are so filled with confidence about all of their beliefs, while those in the middle are likely
Beware of Extremist Bias Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Every day, we are reminded that we live in a new age that can be called “post-truth.” We pay a lot of attention to external sources of misinformation, whether it is motivated public figures, partisan news networks or questionable private news blogs, not to mention the variety of memes, bots,
Expect that Jurors Might Generate Their Own Fake News Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The arc of history has been moving, albeit in fits and starts, toward gender equality. In the business world, and a little less in the legal world, we see more female leaders at the top. But once a woman reaches that point, is she held to the same standards? Would
Account for the ‘Ethics Tax’ on Female Leaders Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It looks like we are heading into another one of those times, like the OJ or Casey Anthony trials, when all of the nation’s attention will be fixated on an interesting and high-stakes legal process. As the impeachment inquiry moves into the public realm this week, it is sure to
Trial Lawyers, Watch how Americans Watch the Impeachment Process Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: There’s a cartoon that shows the philosopher, Plato, sitting on the grass of Athens with a modern-day politician (variously, it is Karl Rove or Donald Trump), with the latter character saying to Plato, “But surely you agree that truth can be created by the repetition of a lie.” We might think
Look Out for the Illusory Truth Effect Read More »