By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: In Florida, Georgia, New York, and Washington DC, Donald Trump is facing the looming prospect of jury trials. While the word is overused these days, it is truly unprecedented for a once and maybe-future President to be facing federal and state charges. With trials for co-conspirators starting as early as next […]
The Trump Juries: Adapt Your Procedures for Higher Profile Jury Selections 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: I don’t know if anything has ever in such a short time moved from being a pretty esoteric science topic to being a concern on everyone’s lips… but ChatGPT could probably tell me. With literally billions of uses per month, the artificial intelligence-driven chatbot has captured our attention and created a mix
Don’t Look for AI to Pick Your Jury…Yet Read More »
Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: You’re in the first moments of jury selection, looking at the pool of fresh and still-unknown panelists. At this early phase, those who are talking or itching to talk are, without fail, those who want out: They’re self-employed, have significant work responsibilities coming up, are booked for an upcoming vacation, or all of
Pull Your Potential Jurors Out from under the ‘Blanket of Anonymity’ Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: There are many phases to a trial. Some of those phases are just for lawyers, but some of them really should include the clients as well. The voir dire process, where the ultimate jury is selected, is one of those latter phases. The clients for all parties should be there. But
Bring Your Client to Voir Dire Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: As part of the voir dire process practiced in most California state courtrooms, the step of allowing each side to make a mini-opening before questioning is becoming more common. That is decidedly less so in many other states, where judges (with at least a little justification) might be thinking, “I
Keep Your Mini-Opening to its proper purpose Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Here’s a scenario that I’ve dealt with quite a bit recently. Counsel for plaintiff and defense both question a panel of prospective jurors, and in the process, we end up learning a good amount about the panelists’ experiences and views on the issues that might relate to the case. The
Catch Up in Voir Dire: Ten Questions to Ask when a New Face Suddenly Joins Your Panel Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The last few years have seen a societal turn toward identifying and addressing systems that institutionalize discrimination based on race, gender, and other demographic traits. That attention is obviously a good thing. But one issue that has been caught up in that trend has been a call to eliminate the
Save the Strikes: ASTC’s Research-Based Case Against Prohibiting the Peremptories Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: There are a number of scenarios where race might matter to your case. Most obviously in the civil realm, these could be employment cases, police use of force cases, or claims involving unequal medical care or testing. In any number of other cases, race could come up as a factor
Need to Talk About Race in Trial? Watch for Language Polarization Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Jury duty often involves some long waits. As people sit in the assembly room or the courtroom, it is normal for them to find something to pass the time. I’ve seen people knitting, drawing, even juggling. But, by far, the most common activity is that they’re reading a paperback that
Look at Whether Your Jurors Are Reading: It May Say Something About Their Empathy Read More »