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
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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 »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: In voir dire, the whole point is to find out information about the potential juror. When you’re seeking out experiences or attitudes that you might use to warrant a strike or to mount a challenge for cause, you care about what that individual thinks, not about what anyone outside the courtroom
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The racial composition is probably one of the first things we notice when venire members file in before jury selection. When recruiting for a mock trial, we will try to match the composition of the venue. Along with other demographics, race is not nearly as predictive as some might think. As a
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: In voir dire, sometimes you want to choose a strategic and indirect way of asking, and sometimes you just want to come straight out and ask the question directly. In an interesting illustration of the difference between the two, Jeremy Dean’s Psyblog recently shared the story of what must have been a
When You Want to Know, Ask Directly…Sometimes Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: During voir dire, the traditional questions designed to expose bias tend to focus on the existence or nonexistence of a biasing attitude or experience. Have you formed any beliefs about the defendant’s guilt or innocence? Do you believe drug companies are more concerned with profits rather than people? In truth, these
To Elicit Bias, Ask About Leaning Read More »