Pull Your Potential Jurors Out from under the ‘Blanket of Anonymity’
Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: You’re in the first moments of jury selection, looking at the pool of fresh and still-unknown panelists. At this early phase, those who are talking or itching to talk are, without fail, those who want out: They’re self-employed, have significant work responsibilities coming up, are booked for an upcoming vacation, or all of the above, and they want you and the judge to know it. The rest of the group, however, is settled in, apparently focused on just getting through this exercise with a minimum of attention directed at them. They are keeping quiet and they’re not eager
Pretty Persuasion: Treat Party or Witness Attractiveness as Part of Credibility
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: It’s probably one of the most unfair biases, but also one of the most ingrained. Human beings prefer attractive people over unattractive people, and that is likely tied to our evolutionary biology. Referred to sometimes as “lookism” the bias confers a number of advantages on those who are socially perceived to be attractive. Ultimately, it boils down to much more than just a preference in partners. There is also a “halo effect” that creates a tendency to attribute a wide variety of other positive traits to those who are viewed as attractive. They’re seen as being
Have I Got a (3-Year) Story for You
Summary (TL;DR) Three years ago, A2L Consulting was #1 in all categories, but we were especially known for our trial graphics and jury consulting. We took a three-year break, and now the team is back under a new moniker, Persuadium. We are hard at work with clients as we speak. The backstory is long and eventful but compelling. Read it below, and I would love to hear from you at ken@persuadium.com, especially if you need persuasive litigation graphics or jury consulting. Persuadium is the new essential element of persuasion. So, what happened? March 5, 2020, 9 pm, pre-lockdown. I am
Stay in Your Lane
If you don't know what you're doing, don't do it. It's okay to hire someone else who does know what they are doing, but don't waste your own time, your client's money, and potentially your career trying to do things you know nothing about. There are experts for that.Rule 1.1 in the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. The original Rule 1.1 states: “A lawyer shall provide competent representation to a client. Competent representation requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation.” Comment 8: Maintaining Competence.“To maintain the requisite knowledge and skill, a lawyer should keep abreast
Do You Want My Opinion or My Tacit Agreement?
Many people ask me for my opinions. My opinions are solicited by family, friends, and clients, and sometimes, even by strangers. I would go as far as saying I am a professional giver of opinions, in that my clients retain me primarily for my expert opinions and advice about their high stakes lawsuits. Sometimes, however, my friends ask me for my opinion when, in reality, they want me to do nothing more than give my tacit agreement to a course of action upon which they have already decided to embark. A recent experience with a childhood friend brought this,
Does victim crying while testifying affect verdicts in rape cases? | Online Jury Research Update
When recounting traumatic events, victims often cry, although not always in the courtroom. In the courtroom, some victims are stoic while others are emotional. The 'emotional witness effect' is a phenomenon in which listeners are affected by the emotional manner in which an alleged victim recounts what happened to them. For example, distressed female rape complainants (i.e., those crying or sobbing) are perceived by psychologists, police officers, judges and students to be more credible than controlled or neutral rape complainants (Nitschke et al., 2019). Do jurors similarly find alleged rape victims who cry to be more credible? do jurors respond