By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Canada has an odd system for determining juror bias in some cases. Referred to as a “trier’s process,” it involves the section of two jurors, who do not otherwise go on to become jurors in the case, but are instead charged with determining if the grounds for a challenge for […]
Discovering Bias: Dig, Don’t Bury Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Several years ago, I sat in a courtroom in Pennsylvania, assisting the defense in a capital murder jury selection. The process was involved, and potential jurors were interviewed one at a time after completing a comprehensive questionnaire. Naturally, we had scored all the questionnaires, so we had a very good
Avoid Juror Self-Sabotage Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: You’ve heard the expression: “Familiarity breeds contempt.” Maybe there is a relationship between the two, but in the courtroom, and in the practical task of assessing experience and attitudes during voir dire, they are two different things. First, there is the question of how much knowledge and experience jurors will
The Oil and Gas Juror: Look for Both Familiarity and Contempt Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: What a potential juror thinks is, of course, critical to the decision to keep or to strike. But that notion of “what she thinks” means, not just her opinions, but also the broader attitudes and dispositions that lie beneath the surface. That’s why the gold standard in voir dire is to
Consider the Complacent: Belief in a Favorable Future (BFF) Isn’t Always Your Friend Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Many have observed the continued decline of the civil jury trial. One reason trial by jury is falling out of favor in civil disputes is that parties and counsel treat it like the ultimate mystery, and this uncertainty makes the alternate ways to resolve the dispute look a lot safer.
Use Community Attitude Surveys as an Uncertainty Reduction Strategy Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Do you think you miss valuable information in voir dire? What about your friends and colleagues who are trial lawyers: Do you think they miss valuable information in voir dire? The first question is self-directed: It is asking about you. But the second question is what they call a “social-circle” question, asking about
Ask Social-Circle Questions Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Jury selection presents a difficult challenge to trial lawyers, and calls for skills that are generally out of step with the rest of what they’re expected to master in order to get from filing to verdict. At the point of empaneling a jury, lawyers are expected to listen more than
Know the Principles: A Review of the “Jury Selection Handbook” Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: One of the main goals of voir dire is to encourage jurors to express some of their actual biases so that you can use those expressions as a basis for cause or peremptory challenges. And there is one big obstacle to achieving that goal: Expressing bias is normally inhibited. This
Use ‘Free Speech’ to Disinhibit Expressions of Bias in Voir Dire Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: America is not yet post-racial, and the Nazis marching this week in Charlottesville, Virginia should be a reminder of that. Continuing tensions on race are played out in courtrooms as well. The as-yet unresolved issues of racial bias in jury selection provide one example. Race-based removals impact the criminal sphere more than
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Once, as I sat in a courtroom getting prepared to assist in picking a jury, the lawyer I was working with leaned over to say, “Make sure you have some reasons for strikes written down that we would be able to show the court.” My reaction? “Of course. All of my reasons
Be Prepared to Explain Your Strikes Read More »