By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Imagine this future scenario. Those called for jury duty arrive at the courthouse. First comes security, with purses and wallets scanned on the belt while the citizens step through the metal detector. Then comes the “Neuro-Voir Dire” as candidate jurors step into a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) machine so […]
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Give me the bite-sized version, break it down into pieces, and tell it to me step-by-step. The brain loves to segment, and the process known as “chunking” seems to be a central part of how we recognize patterns, manage information, and form new insights. A recent perspective on the process
Chunk Your Trial Message Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: As more and more Americans are moving their lives onto social media, the legal world is adapting. Specifically, litigators are coming to realize what a world of information this opens up for voir dire, and to acknowledge as well the responsibilities it creates. The Bar of New York City, for
Cover Your Tracks (When Sneaking a Peek at Your Jurors’ Social Media) Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Whether we’re reading the news, shopping, or participating in social media, we are swimming in “likes” these days. Electronic journalism, online retail, and sharing sites like LinkedIn or Facebook all give users an unprecedented ability to participate, broadcasting their preferences with a click of a button or a comment. But
Beware the Herding Instinct in Opinion Formation Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: In the ongoing jury selection in the trial of George Zimmerman, the Sanford Florida neighborhood watchman charged in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, one potential juror recently experienced a particularly rough exit from the trial. After reporting in voir dire that he had little knowledge of the case, he was
Know a Stealth Juror When You See One Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: In a scene from that great movie of the ’80s, Ferris Beuller’s Day Off, the economics teacher, played inimitably by Ben Stein, tries to engage a class of profoundly bored and unresponsive high school students: In 1930, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, in an effort to alleviate the effects of
Ban the Word “Anyone” From Your Oral Voir Dire Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Think of the situations where self-diagnosis wouldn’t work very well: A police officer asking, “Do you think you were speeding?” or a doctor inquiring, “Do you believe your cancer is in remission?” Yet we still rely on self-diagnosis when trying to discover and eliminate bias in civil and criminal cases
Never Rely on Self-Diagnosis of Bias Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: To supplement the written descriptions in the previous two entries, this post features a video demonstration designed to illustrate the approach to attorney-conducted oral voir dire that I’ve been writing about. Using a number of volunteers from my firm, I created this clip in order to show and discuss the
Practice the Pivot in Oral Voir Dire (Part Three): The Demonstration Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: If, by the end of oral voir dire, you’ve broken the ice, earned some credibility and rapport, learned the basis for at least a handful of cause challenges and strikes, and spent the balance of your time eliciting themes from jurors that help your case, then you’ve done your job.
Practice the Pivot in Oral Voir Dire (Part Two): Good Habits and Tricky Situations Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When voir dire goes well, it creates a balance between the goals of spotting the high-risk jurors and safely drawing themes from the more favorable jurors. At the same time, the questioning process should build rapport and feel natural to both the attorney and the panelists. When voir dire goes
Practice the Pivot in Oral Voir Dire (Part One): The Basic Model Read More »