By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Here’s a welcome development: The state of Maryland has embarked on a pilot program to test out the effects of expanded voir dire. In many parts of the country (looking at you, Arizona) the ability of litigants to explore and deselect jurors based on bias is being reined in, with some […]
Guest post by Josh Haby: When I received my jury summons a month or so ago, I was elated. But the feeling was brief, as I quickly concluded my service would likely end as quickly as it would begin. I’m a Litigation Consultant, I work for a law firm, I studied Psychology and Law, and […]
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: With the 2024 election now in the rearview mirror, many Americans are still processing the results. The Presidential contest between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris was widely seen as close by both pollster and pundit, and logically at least, many of us believed right up to the end that either side […]
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: As I write this, it is finally and mercifully Election Day, 2024. For many of us on the edges of our seats awaiting the returns, we might be considering the question, “What brought us to this?” The answer is that recent technological and cultural forces have powerfully changed American life in […]
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: I know, I know, there’s a very good chance that every election in your lifetime has been billed as the “most important election in your lifetime.” But when it comes to next week’s election, that hyperbole just might be justified — at least based on the way the country seems to […]
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: As your juror hears testimony from a banking executive, is she thinking that banks are secretly controlling society? As another juror hears from a medical expert, is he thinking that experts like that are the ones who caused the “covid hoax”? What might it mean for your case if the jury […]
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: With fewer than 30 days to go until one of the most pivotal elections in our history, do you believe the polls? Many would say “No.” Even when our favored candidate is ahead, we all seem to believe that there is some built-in error in the surveys. People aren’t always willing […]
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: As they enter a deposition room, or approach the lectern for cross-examination at trial, opposing counsel is looking for an opportunity to make a few memorable points at your witness’s expense. Often that opportunity can be achieved by asking the witness to embrace an oversimplified version or their duties and obligations. […]
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Mediation is often guided by predictions made by each side, as well as by the mediator: if this case went to trial and faced a jury, what would that jury likely do with it? Naturally, each of these three actors will have a belief about that, and those beliefs may be […]
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Cross-examination is a big deal for a key witness. I’ve noticed in trial that it gets some added attentiveness from the jury. Knowing that they’re now seeing one side pitted directly against the other, jurors will sit forward a bit in their seats to see who gets the better end of […]