By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm As counsel scans the panel of potential jurors, one might stand out based on the gut level thought: a “that guy just makes me nervous” kind of reaction. Basing your strike decisions on a “bad feeling” that lies outside of articulable factors of experience or attitude certainly isn’t unknown. But it […]
Have a Definite (Explicit and Quantified) Reason for Your Strikes Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: How effectively does counsel and the court question potential jurors as part of the selection process? New research in the journal Language in Society (Clayman & Fox, 2025) provides some additional perspective on that question. The two authors, coming from the academic perspective of conversation analysis, reviewed transcripts from more than 100 question and
Oral Voir Dire: Know Your Purpose Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Cause challenges play an important role in jury selection. When a potential juror has an acknowledged barrier to basing their decision on a neutral understanding of the evidence and the law, they should not serve. However, when lawyers are exploring potential cause issues, I often see them taking an approach that
Follow Five Steps to a Successful Cause Challenge Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: A couple of weeks ago, I was in court to help pick a jury in a high-value case. During that early phase of jury selection, the gallery was full to capacity with potential jurors, the counsel and parties were present, the clerks bustling, but not much else was happening. As we
Attend to Your Jury Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Early on in the jury selection process, the judge will often ask the panel, “We all know that jury duty can be inconvenient, but who believes they would experience an unreasonable hardship by serving in this case?” Hands will shoot up. In some cases, the claims make an obvious case for
Know When to Go Easy on Hardship Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Here’s a welcome development: The state of Maryland has embarked on a pilot program to test out the effects of expanded voir dire. In many parts of the country (looking at you, Arizona) the ability of litigants to explore and deselect jurors based on bias is being reined in, with some
Guest post by Josh Haby: When I received my jury summons a month or so ago, I was elated. But the feeling was brief, as I quickly concluded my service would likely end as quickly as it would begin. I’m a Litigation Consultant, I work for a law firm, I studied Psychology and Law, and
See Your Case from the Jury’s Eyes: My Time in the Box Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: I know, I know, there’s a very good chance that every election in your lifetime has been billed as the “most important election in your lifetime.” But when it comes to next week’s election, that hyperbole just might be justified — at least based on the way the country seems to
Trial Soon? Expect Some Jurors to Have Electoral Stress Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: With fewer than 30 days to go until one of the most pivotal elections in our history, do you believe the polls? Many would say “No.” Even when our favored candidate is ahead, we all seem to believe that there is some built-in error in the surveys. People aren’t always willing
Expect Jurors to Censor Their Opinions Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: It has become more commonplace to hear talk about a future of litigation without peremptory strikes. After all, Arizona in 2022 was the first state to eliminate strikes in all cases, and it may not be the last. California and Washington have moved to revised schemes for exercising strikes, relying not
Fight (Constitutionally) for Your Peremptory Strikes Read More »