Closing Argument: Opportunity and Challenge
Direct Examination: Looping and Bookending
Innovative Jury Strategies and the Power of Preparation — FCRA Focus Podcast
Opening Statements: Telling the Story
Openings of Openings
The Basics of Opening Statements
Effective Trial Language Part 3: Jargon
Podcast - Effective Trial Language Part 2: Legalese
Why Demonstrative Aids Are Critical in Every Case
Showing Exhibits to the Jury
Key Lessons and Takeaways for Jury Trials
Overcoming Safetyism & the Plaintiff Media Machine - IMS Insights Podcast Epsiode 66
Podcast - Basic Courtroom Etiquette
Podcast - The Five Most Common Faults of Trial Lawyers
Podcast - The “Five P’s” That Will Help Shape Jurors’ Emotions
The Strategic Advantages of Working with Jury Consultants – IMS Insights Podcast Episode 56
Uncovering Juror Bias, Counteracting Nuclear Verdicts, & the Future of Massive Damages – IMS Insights Podcast Episode 47
Integrated Case Themes & Nuclear Verdict Causes – IMS Insights Podcast Episode 46
An Inside Look as a Juror - FCRA Focus Podcast
It has become more commonplace to hear talk about a future of litigation without peremptory strikes. After all, Arizona in 2022 was the first state to eliminate strikes in all cases, and it may not be the last. California and...more
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: The distinction between what is fact and what is opinion is arguably one of the most fundamental distinctions in law. But in practice, it is actually a lawyer’s distinction. In the real world, and in...more
I suspect there has never been any great love affair between attorneys in general and the jury pool. Jurors know that lawyers are there to influence them toward a desired result, and that’s typically met with suspicion....more
Recent years’ events have inspired experiential and attitudinal changes among jurors across the board. The 2016 presidential election and the COVID-19 pandemic fostered a shift in attitudes about corporations, governmental...more
Whenever we step up to evaluate a person as a potential juror, it can be an occupational hazard to simplify that person too much. We do our best with the time and information available, and to be sure, jury selection would be...more
Many of us probably watched or heard about the drama this past week in the Women’s Olympic Figure Skating event. Kamila Valieva — just 15-years-old, but with a dominant combination of quad-jumps and world class performance...more
Q: The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the skepticism some laypeople harbor toward scientists and medical experts. How can you overcome these jurors’ perceptions in science-based trials? A: Trial lawyers should spend more...more
How likely is it that a corporation’s competitor could come up with a parallel product without infringing a patent? How common is it for someone to get injured on an amusement park ride? How normal would it be for someone who...more
As you’re waiting your turn for voir dire, you notice that plaintiff’s counsel is getting a fair number of potential jurors to admit that they might have a bias — against lawsuits, against plaintiffs’ attorneys, against...more
At the voir dire stage of a jury trial, the word “bias” gets used a lot. But do we really know what it means? The courts, in practice at least, hew to a simple meaning: If a potential juror admits to bias, that means they...more
Potential jurors arrive at the courtroom with misinformation that might bear on your case. They could have opinions on scientific validity and reliability that will conflict with what your experts will tell them. They might...more
As a defendant thinking about your risk in the run up to civil trial, you probably have some idea of what your case is worth. But you also know, and have likely used, the expression, “Anything is possible with a jury.” There...more
In recent days, I’ve been thinking about all of the “QAnon” followers, and how and whether they are reconciling recent events with their belief in Donald Trump’s role in purging the top echelons of politics and society before...more
Societal shocks tend to reverberate in the courtroom. The COVID-19 pandemic is no exception. For over 20 years, DecisionQuest has been conducting nationwide juror research through social crises like the Enron scandal, 9/11,...more
Many Republicans believe that President Trump lost the election only due to widespread and systemic voter fraud. When Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, a Trump voter and donor, says that Democrat...more
It is becoming axiomatic that you can’t talk people out of hardened views. Particularly on political subjects; the common view is that we are in a “post-persuasion” era. Perhaps that depressing assumption explains why I was...more
It is obvious that we live in a time of extraordinary polarization, and we are in the midst of an election that is bringing that schism into even starker contrast. Red and blue Americans differ in our demographics, our...more
Society changes: leaders come and go, the economy goes up and down, wars start and end, and now, medical emergencies arrive and (hopefully soon) depart. But through all of that, for the 12 years we’ve measured it, one thing...more
As you look out at a panel of potential jurors during voir dire, there are many things you’re likely to wonder about them. Do they have any attitudes toward your client, or people like your client? Are they likely to...more
As the number of our posts on attitude changes in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic reaches double digits, astute readers will note that there are some apparent inconsistencies emerging in the reports. For example, the...more
With protests continuing in many major American cities, the civil unrest and violence has had a polarizing effect on the public. While some call for reform and for understanding of what motivates these marches, others call...more
Only recently, we had a 24-7 news bubble on the coronavirus pandemic, and it didn’t seem like anything could break it. Now, however, our television screens are filled with scenes of protest and violent confrontation. The...more
When Trump associate Roger Stone was sentenced last month for obstruction of Congress and witness tampering, there was some pushback from media, Stone’s legal team, and the President himself targeting the jury’s foreperson, a...more
Litigators are used to arguing, refuting, and persuading. When it comes to selecting jurors, they’re also used to uncovering bias. But what is “debiasing”? While my spellchecker continues to reject the term, academics have...more
Some feel that the jury system has a fatal flaw. And that flaw is the jurors. They’re human, and that means they carry a wide variety of biases. Based on their experiences, their outlooks, the information they’re exposed to,...more