07 Saturday Jan 2017
Posted in Juror Questionnaires, Jury Selection, Trial Tips and Techniques, Voir Dire
≈ Comments Off on Voir Dire and The Internet – The Litigator’s Way of Getting To Know You.
Tags
Dennis Elias, Dr. Ken Broda-Brahm, Internet, Jury Selection, Litigation Strategies Inc., Social media, Voir Dire
Getting Up Close and Personal: Using Social Media in Jury Selection, by Dennis Elias, Litigation Strategy, Inc.
Are you more candid online than in person? Apparently, it’s true, which makes the Internet and social media a boon to litigators. Here’s why, how, and where to draw the ethical line before you go too far. -CCE
29 Tuesday Nov 2016
Posted in Juror Questionnaires, Jury Persuasion, Jury Selection, Trial Tips and Techniques, Voir Dire
≈ Comments Off on Picking A Jury? Read This First.
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Dr. Ken Broda-Brahm, Juror Bias, Juror Questionnaires, Jury Selection, Persuasive Litigator, Voir Dire
Get Better Answers: Top 7 Posts on Supplemental Juror Questionnaires, by Dr. Ken Broda-Brahm, Persuasive Litigator
Well, here’s a treat. Seven posts all in one on jury selection and jury questionnaires. How do you find the right jurors to hear and decide your case? Some people have a natural tendency to tell you whatever you want to hear. They are just trying to be helpful. Some potential jurors simply don’t want to be there, and hope to be dismissed.
You have little time to sort this out. It is time to become an expert in human psychology. –CCE
If I had to pick one trial reform that has the best chance of promoting reliable information in voir dire and in decreasing reliance on demographic biases, it would be the greater use of supplemental juror questionnaires. A well-designed questionnaire allows you to uncover the attitudes that are most relevant to bias in a given case context. Here are seven posts laying out the reasons why.
21 Wednesday Oct 2015
Posted in Implied Bias, Jury Persuasion, Jury Selection, Trial Tips and Techniques, Voir Dire
≈ Comments Off on Understand Group Psychology Patterns for Winning Trial Strategy.
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Group Psychology, Jury Persuasion, Jury Selection, Ken Lopez, The Litigation Consulting Report, Voir Dire, Wilfred Bion
Group Psychology, Voir Dire, Jury Selection and Jury Deliberations, by Ken Lopez, The Litigation Consulting Report
Since first being exposed to the group psychology work of Wilfred Bion 15 years ago, I’ve been completely fascinated by it. I think his theories perfectly explain the behavior of every group that I’ve ever encountered. From boards that I sit on to groups on reality TV shows, they all behave in the same predictable ways, especially when placed under pressure. . . . [Emphasis added.]
10 Wednesday Jun 2015
Posted in Implied Bias, Jury Selection, Peremptory Challenges, Trial Tips and Techniques, Voir Dire
≈ Comments Off on How Juror With Ties To Defendants’ Law Firm Stayed On The Jury.
Motion to Strike Potential Juror Represented by Law Firm Involved Denied, by Daniel E. Cummins, TortTalk Blog
(Source for Mr. Cummins post: “Panel Upholds Decision Not to Strike Juror With Ties to Firm” by P.J. D’Annunzio of The Legal Intelligencer (June 3, 2015).)
http://www.torttalk.com/2015/06/motion-to-strike-potential-juror.html
In the non-precedential Pennsylvania Superior Court case of DeFrancesco v. Lehigh Valley Health Network, No. 742 EDA 2014 (Pa. Super. May 26, 2015 Panella, Olson, Fitzgerald, J.J.) (slip op. by Fitzgerald, J.), the appellate court affirmed a trial court’s decision not to strike a juror from a medical malpractice case during voir dire even though the juror was a client of the same firm representing defendants in the case. . . .
14 Saturday Mar 2015
Posted in Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Jury Selection, Research, Trial Tips and Techniques, Voir Dire
≈ Comments Off on Useful Information for Jury Selection?
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beSpacific Blog., Civil Rights, Criminal Law, Hate Crimes, Jury Selection, Sabrina I. Pacifici, Voir Dire
Study Finds Racial, Ethnic Divide In Attention To Crime News, by Sabrina I. Pacifici, BeSpacific Blog
http://www.bespacific.com/study-finds-racial-ethnic-divide-in-attention-to-crime-news/
‘Crime consistently ranks as one of the most followed and discussed topics by the public, and it receives more attention in local news media than almost any other subject. A recent Pew Research Center report reinforces these findings but also suggests that certain groups of residents pay closer attention to local crime than others in the three cities studied. A difference that particularly stands out is between racial and ethnic groups. . . .’
01 Wednesday Oct 2014
Posted in Jury Selection, Trial Tips and Techniques
≈ Comments Off on Have The Rules For Jury Selection Changed?
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Douglas L. Keene Ph.D., Jury Selection, Rita R. Handrich Ph.D., The Jury Expert Blog, Trial Tips & Techniques
Demographic Roulette: What Was Once a Bad Idea Has Gotten Worse, by Douglas L. Keene, Ph.D. and Rita R. Handrich, Ph.D. from Keene Trial Consulting, The Jury Expert Blog
‘Beware of the Lutherans, especially the Scandinavians; they are almost always sure to convict. Either a Lutheran or Scandinavian is unsafe, but if both in one, plead your client guilty and go down the docket. He learns about sinning and punishing from the preacher, and dares not doubt. A person who disobeys must be sent to hell; he has God’s word for that.’ (Clarence Darrow, 1936)
Almost eighty years following Clarence Darrow’s distillation of how religion shapes jury behavior, the belief that demographics could be the holy grail for the selection of jurors persists. It is routine for our clients to comment, in the midst of a mock juror deliberation, “Well, it looks like older women are good for us!” and for the associates to quickly add this to their notes for use in the upcoming voir dire. The lingering hope that demographics could predict a juror’s eventual vote represents a pesky and persistent belief. Too bad it’s hardly ever true. . . .
12 Saturday Jul 2014
Posted in Batson Challenge, Implied Bias, Jury Selection, Trial Tips and Techniques, United States Supreme Court
≈ Comments Off on Texas Prosecutor Fired for Using Racial Remarks In “Batson Challenge.”
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Batson Challenge, Batson v. Kentucky, Civil Rights, Jim Crow, Jury Selection, Negro Motorist Green Book, Peremptory Strike, Race Activist, San Antonio Employment Law Blog, Tom Crane, Trial Tips & Techniques
Travis County Prosecutor Fired Over Racial Remarks, by Tom Crane, San Antonio Employment Law Blog
Poor choice of words, bad judgment, racially inappropriate or all three? -CCE
The ’Batson challenge’ allows a lawyer to challenge the strike of a potential jury member. The challenge is based on the decision in Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 70 (1986), which found it unconstitutional to strike a potential jury member on the basis of race. The Batson challenge does not require much. So long as the lawyer can articulate a non-discriminatory reason for the peremptory strike, then the strike will likely stand. A prosecutor, Steve Brand, in Travis County struck a potential jury member because she was a member of the NAACP, because she wanted to be a member of the jury, and because she had a link on her Facebook page to Negro Motorist Green Book, a book for safe travel during the Jim Crow era. Mr. Brand said he wanted to avoid an having an ’activist’ on the jury and would have done the same in regard to a perceived white activist. . . .
27 Thursday Mar 2014
Posted in Appellate Law, Implied Bias, Indiana Supreme Court, Jury Selection, Peremptory Challenges, Trial Tips and Techniques
≈ Comments Off on Jury Selection – How To Recognize A Bad Apple When You See One.
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Gender Discrimination, Implied Bias, Jury Selection, Peremptory Challenges, Race Discrimination, Richard A. Cook, The Barrister’s Toolbox, Trial Tips & Techniques
One Bad Apple Can Spoil the Whole Bunch. When Should a Juror, Not Be a Juror? by Richard A. Cook, The Barrister’s Toolbox – A Resource for Trial Advocacy
Jury selection is often where your case is won or lost. One bad juror can spoil your whole case. That one juror could lead the other jurors to render an adverse verdict, a compromise verdict or lead to gridlock and a hung jury. In civil cases, you often have limited peremptory challenges, where you can eliminate a juror without showing actual bias or other grounds for disqualification. So what exactly is the law? When is a judge obligated to grant your motion to strike a juror for cause? . . . .
10 Monday Feb 2014
Posted in Jury Instructions, Jury Persuasion, Jury Selection, Peremptory Challenges, Trial Tips and Techniques, Voir Dire
≈ Comments Off on Jury Consultant’s Voir Dire Tips.
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Edward P. Schwartz, Hung Juries, Jury Consulting, Jury Selection, Jury Trials, Lawyers USA, Peremptory Challenges, Supplemental Juror Questionnaires, THE JURY BOX, Voir Dire, Voir Dire Questionnaires
Indirect Questions Reap Most Information in Oral Voir Dire, by Edward P. Schwartz, THE JURY BOX
In reviewing the traffic on my website recently, I was struck by how much more often one particular article was accessed than any other. I used to write a column on trial strategy for Lawyers USA (formerly Lawyers Weekly USA), and this particular article on voir dire strategy from 2006 seems to be very popular, even today. So, in the spirit of giving the public what it wants, here is that article in its entirety.
20 Friday Dec 2013
Posted in Jury Selection, Trial Tips and Techniques
≈ Comments Off on Jury Selection – Pick The Person. Forget About Gender.
Speak to the Person, Not the Gender, by Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm, Persuasive Litigator
Dr. Broda-Bahm nails it in this post about focusing on the attitudes and experiences of each person on the jury rather than gender. -CCE
We have already, in several posts (here, here, and here) developed the recommendation to not conduct jury selection based on gender or other demographic elements, so I won’t repeat that recommendation here. Instead, I want to focus on the ways advocates should adapt without overcompensating for perceived gender differences. So here are a few suggestions for increasing your odds of speaking and seeing beyond the demographic.
01 Friday Nov 2013
Posted in Experts, Jury Instructions, Jury Selection, Trial Tips and Techniques, Voir Dire
≈ Comments Off on American Jury System – The Optimal Jury Trial Videos
Favorite Thing: American Jury System – The Optimal Jury Trial Videos, submitted by Susie Macpherson of NJP Litigation Consulting, ASTC Member Trial Consultants from The Jury Expert
http://perma.cc/0Z3TkwVQy6Z
Impressive collection of resources for judges and attorneys. CCE
These videos are a great resource for attorneys and judges who want to investigate any of these topics, or for those who need ‘hands on’ examples to encourage other judges and attorneys to implement new procedures.”
25 Friday Oct 2013
Posted in Direct Examination, Experts, Jury Selection, Legal Technology, Trial Tips and Techniques, Witness Preparation
≈ Comments Off on Trial Technique Courtroom Tips
TRIAL TECHNIQUES: What lawyers should (and shouldn’t) worry about in the courtroom, by Alexandra Rudolph, WisLawJournal.com
http://bit.ly/uDFH17
19 Saturday Oct 2013
Posted in Closing Argument, Cross-Examination, Direct Examination, Evidence, Judges, Jury Selection, Making Objections, Opening Argument, Trial Notebooks, Trial Tips and Techniques
≈ Comments Off on Comprehensive Discussion of Trial Procedure and Techniques
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Closing Argument, Cross-Examination, Direct Examination, Indiana University School of Law, James A. Tanford, Jury Selection, Objections, Opening Argument, Trial Notebooks, Trial Tips and Techniques
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Trial Procedure And Tactics, by James A. Tanford, Indiana University School of Law
http://www.law.indiana.edu/instruction/tanford/web/reference/basictactics.html
The Researching Paralegal 
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