By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Chants of “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” and “I Can’t Breathe,” continue to be heard at protests around the country. Motivated by the Ferguson, Missouri police shooting of Michael Brown, as well as the choke-hold death of Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York, these protests testify to a rising distrust […]
Don’t Confuse Certainty with Accuracy when It Comes to Witness Testimony Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Here’s a riddle for you: Going into the midterm elections, approval ratings for Congress hovered at just around 14 percent, yet the win rate for Congressional incumbents was 96.6 percent. How can we reconcile those numbers? Americans have an incredibly low opinion of the institution, yet overwhelmingly return the same
Account for Fenno’s Paradox: We Don’t Judge Groups Like We Judge Individuals Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Your doctor has an M.D., a license, and potentially board certifications as well. Your lawyer has a J.D., a license, and quite possibly other honors based on experience. The legal videographer recording your deposition likely will be certified for that work. Heck, even your plumber, your home siding installer, and
Vet Your Trial Consultant Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: At the start of their game last Sunday, members of the L.A. Clippers ceremonially left their warmup jackets in a heap in center court, and warmed up with their shirts turned inside-out in order to conceal the name and logo of the team. This act came in response to recorded comments
Dissociate (to Separate Bad Image from Good Image in Litigation) Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Law firms and legal departments continue to lag behind when it comes to racial diversity. Based on several indicators, the legal profession is still among the least ethnically and racially diverse professions in the United States. Those who do the hiring in legal fields are well aware of this gap
Hire Code-Switchers Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The current cover of The Rolling Stone, usually reserved for the popular idols of our time, bears the face of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bombing suspect, complete with Hollywood good looks and a rock star sulk. That hasn’t gone over so well. The magazine is no stranger to controversy and expected
Respect Your Idols Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Many companies which are headquartered or do the bulk of their business outside the United States can be a little freaked out by the prospect of being at the mercy of an American jury. After all, as a uniquely American notion, the act of resolving disputes by drawing upon the
Non-U.S. Companies: Don’t Fear Being “Hometowned” in American Courts Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The way we create, locate, and measure public opinion is changing, and fast. It used to be that we treated the body public as a passive audience waiting to be canvased, surveyed, or focus-grouped. Today, however, people in all demographics are active in public and semipublic internet spaces creating, sharing, and liking
Account for Social Media Distortion Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: A classic case of pretrial publicity is currently playing out in Steubenville, Ohio. After members of the hacker’s group called “Anonymous,” posted a photo and video linking two high school football players to the rape of a teenage girl and pointing toward an official effort to limit the scope of
Account for the Media’s Effect (Even in Civil Cases) Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Those of us who work in the business of preparing for trial and going to trial are used to seeing the jury as a tool of dispute resolution. We’re less used to thinking about the jury’s broader political role. Apart from the speeches given by judges at the start of
Consider the Jury’s Political Role Read More »