DOAR Study Shows the Increased Impact Political Affiliation Has on Jurors in White-Collar Criminal Matters
June 24, 2025, New York, NY — DOAR, the nation’s leading trial consulting company, today released findings from its comprehensive study examining how political beliefs influence public attitudes in white-collar crime cases following the 2024 presidential election. The study revealed that traditional demographic predictors of juror behavior have been fundamentally disrupted by political polarization, with implications for jury selection and trial strategy in white-collar criminal matters. The report, “Public Attitudes Toward White-Collar Crime in the Aftermath of the Presidential Election,” was conducted by the DOAR Research Center and surveyed 1,242 jury-eligible Americans across the country about their views of the
Follow Five Steps to a Successful Cause Challenge
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Cause challenges play an important role in jury selection. When a potential juror has an acknowledged barrier to basing their decision on a neutral understanding of the evidence and the law, they should not serve. However, when lawyers are exploring potential cause issues, I often see them taking an approach that […]
Jury Persuasion Techniques: Using Surprise to Overcome Boredom and Confirmation Bias in the Courtroom
Over a decade ago, I wrote an article for this blog titled, Could Surprise Be One of Your Best Visual Persuasion Tools? In it, I made the case that well-executed surprise — not ambush, but carefully designed moments of cognitive disruption — can be one of the most powerful tools a litigator brings into the courtroom. Since then, I've seen that insight validated over and over again in real-world trials. And as the research around cognitive science and juror decision-making has advanced, my belief has only strengthened: surprise remains one of the most underutilized jury persuasion techniques available today. If
How a Trial Presentation Company Illustrates Scale: Lessons from Boeing
Last week I wrote about a master storyteller at Boeing who taught me a lesson about juror attention. But there was something else on that tour that stuck with me—a single image tucked into a hallway near the visitor center. It was a chart comparing the size of Boeing’s Everett Factory to some of the world’s most iconic landmarks. Versailles. The Pentagon. The Taj Mahal. Places that live large in the public imagination. And there it was—this red outline showing the Everett plant, dwarfing them all. It reminded me of something trial presentation companies like ours face all the time:
Account for the Transformation of Your Jurors
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Will the individuals who serve on your jury be the same people they were before they were called for service and selected? Will they have the same mental habits and preferences they exhibit in their civilian lives outside the courthouse? Will they be the same people they portray themselves to be […]
What a Boeing Storyteller Taught Me About Litigation Graphics
This past weekend. I went to the Boeing factory in Seattle to see planes. I didn’t expect to come away with a lesson in persuasion. The place is staggering—airplane sections the size of office buildings, precision assembly lines that look like they were choreographed by NASA, and enough rivets to hold together a continent. But what struck me most wasn’t the machines. It was a man named Christopher Summit. Christopher Summit was our tour guide, and he is not easy to forget. He has a thick Irish accent, long white mutton chops, and a storyteller’s glint in his eye that