Voir Dire Archives - Page 3 of 12

Save the Strikes: ASTC’s Research-Based Case Against Prohibiting the Peremptories

Bias, Uncategorized, Voir Dire / ken.brodabahm / January 9, 2023

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 »

Need to Talk About Race in Trial? Watch for Language Polarization

Bias, Voir Dire / ken.brodabahm / June 27, 2022

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 »

Look at Whether Your Jurors Are Reading: It May Say Something About Their Empathy

Narrative, Voir Dire / ken.brodabahm / October 25, 2021

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 »

(Sometimes) Reinforce a Higher Threshold for Cause Challenges

Voir Dire / ken.brodabahm / October 14, 2021

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 »

Peremptories: Don’t Learn from Arizona

Public Perception, Voir Dire / ken.brodabahm / September 2, 2021

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 »

Voir Dire: Create Your Own ‘Candor Script’

Voir Dire / ken.brodabahm / July 1, 2021

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 »

Voir Dire: Select on Attitudes, not Race

Bias, Voir Dire / ken.brodabahm / June 21, 2021

By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Juneteenth is now a federal holiday, and even as many would prefer action on voting rights protection, equal access to education and healthcare, and police reform, the symbol is still important. It highlights both the progress and the work to be done on race in this country. In our courtrooms,

Voir Dire: Select on Attitudes, not Race Read More »

Don’t Oversell Your Limits

Closing Argument, Opening Statement, Voir Dire / ken.brodabahm / June 17, 2021

By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Now that the coronavirus vaccinations are moving toward the point of critical mass, it might be safe to think back on the early weeks of the vaccines’ roll-out. At that stage, many health officials were emphasizing the limits of the vaccine. The message went sort of like this: “It’s no

Don’t Oversell Your Limits Read More »

Don’t Take Analytical Thinking for Granted

Comprehension, Voir Dire / ken.brodabahm / January 14, 2021

By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It’s an implicit mistake that lawyers can sometimes make. They’ll tacitly believe and behave as though, “Reasonable people think like I do.” The trouble is, that isn’t true. Other lawyers think like you do, but lawyers have been selected and trained to favor high-analytical ability. We simply can’t project that on society.

Don’t Take Analytical Thinking for Granted Read More »

Guard Against “Expressive Response” in Voir Dire

Voir Dire / ken.brodabahm / December 21, 2020

By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: We know that perceptions of facts can be filtered by a strong partisan lens. Differing narratives regarding the recent election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have brought that into sharp relief. While a majority of Americans consider the issue settled, a surprisingly large minority does not. Based on a

Guard Against “Expressive Response” in Voir Dire Read More »

Your Trial Message

(formerly the Persuasive Litigator blog)

Voir Dire