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 »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: As you’re waiting your turn for voir dire, you notice that plaintiff’s counsel is getting a fair number of potential jurors to admit that they might have a bias — against lawsuits, against plaintiffs’ attorneys, against various damage categories, in favor of personal responsibility, and in favor of parties like
(Sometimes) Reinforce a Higher Threshold for Cause Challenges Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: In my last post, I wrote about how the state of Arizona has been a leader in testing options for online trials. That same day, however, Arizona became the first state to eliminate peremptory strikes in criminal and civil cases. So far, the media is covering the move as a bold
Peremptories: Don’t Learn from Arizona Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: As the potential juror sits with the others in the courtroom, the thoughts running through his head might go something like this: “I am being tested on whether I qualify for jury duty…so if that’s what I want, it means giving the right answers…and ‘right’ in this situation means the answers
Voir Dire: Create Your Own ‘Candor Script’ Read More »