By Natalie Gordon, M.A., DOAR analyst Do you want the good news or the bad news first? We are all familiar with this phrase, and when we use it, it is because we are hoping the bad news will be mitigated by the good news. In other words, we want the positive feeling from the good news to spill over and lessen the blow of the bad news. Concerns about so-called “spillover effects” abound in the legal system. As a result, trial separation (“bifurcation”) is used in cases where evidence about one decision might bias a separate, but related decision.

As deliberations in the Paul Manafort fraud trial continue, DOAR Director Roy Futterman discusses the unique pressures on the jurors in this politically-charged case. Read the entire article here. The post Pressures rise on the Manafort jury, according to Roy Futterman in Reuters appeared first on DOAR.

While everyone mulls the significance of the Paul Manafort fraud trial jury’s four questions at the end of the first day of deliberations, DOAR Director Roy Futterman cautions against over-analyzing them, based on his experience sweating deliberations. Read the entire article here. The post Roy Futterman discusses Manafort jury questions with Reuters appeared first on DOAR.

In DOAR’s web series “Sidebar,” Jury Consultant Roy Futterman, Ph.D. provides his insights, analysis and commentary on the state of the world from the intersection of the legal system, popular culture and the zeitgeist. Join us for a heady mélange of juries, judges, the nature of consciousness, physics, metaphysics, the multiverse, the Oracle at Delphi, edibles before dinner, something tangentially related to the law, and the illusory feeling of having a self, won’t you? The post Sidebar – Episode 4: Stabilizing appeared first on DOAR.

By Natalie Gordon, M.A., Ph.D. student, DOAR analyst When Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, many Americans asked—how did this happen?  Some attributed it to James Comey’s decision to re-open the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s e-mails just days earlier, while others looked farther back in time to Trump’s success on the Apprentice.  This investigation into what led Trump to become President exemplifies the human inclination to create causal chains when trying to understand events.  And we do this all the time, whether we’re trying to understand public events like the space shuttle disaster or the 9/11 attack, or private

In DOAR’s web series “Sidebar,” Jury Consultant Roy Futterman, Ph.D. provides his insights, analysis and commentary on the state of the world from the intersection of the legal system, popular culture and the zeitgeist. Join us for a heady mélange of juries, judges, the nature of consciousness, physics, metaphysics, the multiverse, the Oracle at Delphi, edibles before dinner, something tangentially related to the law, and the illusory feeling of having a self, won’t you? The post Sidebar – Episode 3: Simulating appeared first on DOAR.

In DOAR’s web series “Sidebar,” Jury Consultant Roy Futterman, Ph.D. provides his insights, analysis and commentary on the state of the world from the intersection of the legal system, popular culture and the zeitgeist. Join us for a heady mélange of juries, judges, the nature of consciousness, physics, metaphysics, the multiverse, the Oracle at Delphi, edibles before dinner, something tangentially related to the law, and the illusory feeling of having a self, won’t you? The post Sidebar – Episode 2: Articulating appeared first on DOAR.

In DOAR’s web series “Sidebar,” Jury Consultant Roy Futterman, Ph.D. provides his insights, analysis and commentary on the state of the world from the intersection of the legal system, popular culture and the zeitgeist. Join us for a heady mélange of juries, judges, the nature of consciousness, physics, metaphysics, the multiverse, the Oracle at Delphi, edibles before dinner, something tangentially related to the law, and the illusory feeling of having a self, won’t you? The post Sidebar – Episode 1: Spoofing appeared first on DOAR.

By Chad Lackey, Ph.D. and Emily Stein, J.D. Download the White Paper We call them striped unicorns — that ideal expert for a given case, a respected, unimpeachable authority with exceptional communication skills and an unflappable demeanor. It can be difficult to differentiate the ideal from the not-quite-right when legal teams are under the gun to find an expert, but there is a methodology for ensuring their suitability. In a new white paper, DOAR’s Chad Lackey, Ph.D. and Emily Stein, J.D. provide practical guidance on how to assess an expert’s suitability and minimize potential surprises. Download the White Paper on

View the Infographic Jury selection in white-collar cases is always challenging as class biases and life experiences all too often taint potential jurors’ view of the defendant.  Throw in a very public persona and widespread media coverage, and the task of finding 12 people, plus alternates, who can keep an open mind will be a monumentally high hurdle for the Manafort defense.  And, it appears they will have to do it twice as the former Trump campaign chairman will be tried on an 18-count federal indictment in July and a separate five-count indictment in September – two trials, two venues,