Focus Groups Save the Day–on Broadway!
History sometimes provides us with useful lessons for present-day concerns – even if seemingly unrelated to trial techniques. One of my personal favorites is the story of how a potential Broadway flop, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, went from the media comparing the show to the Titanic, i.e., a massive failure, to a $160 million […]
Who Wants A Perceived Liar On The Stand? Not You!
People aren’t very good at detecting liars. Studies show that people’s hit rate for detecting lies (54%) is slightly above pure chance (50%), which is good news for the liars, but bad news for you in the courtroom. Why? Because people tend to pay attention to certain cues to determine if someone is lying, but […]
Put “Truthiness” To Work For You—At Trial!
The value of visuals in trial work is well established, in that images emphasize and clarify testimony or evidence. However, research shows that visuals have an impact in yet another way, which can be put to powerful use in the courtroom. Scientists examined what Stephen Colbert calls “truthiness” –the feeling that something is true. What […]
Do You Like Me?
Likeability shouldn’t matter in the courtroom. A lawyer’s personality should be irrelevant. The facts should be paramount; they should be the only thing jurors pay attention to. Would that be nice if it were true? The jurors on any one of your jury panels are persuaded by a combination of factors. Facts are but one […]
The Enduring, Maddening CSI Effect
In my ongoing research of what jurors think and how they decide cases, I am once again reminded of the enduring “CSI effect,” and how lawyers would do well to pay more attention to it. Simply put, the “CSI effect” is jurors’ overriding, sometimes obsessive, need to explore for themselves every bit of physical evidence […]
Arrogance 101: Dump It!
In this era where celebrities are revered and the super-wealthy envied, it’s easy to forget how such individuals are perceived once in the Courtroom. Certainly, some celebrities and mega-billionaires have retained their essential “human-ness” despite their fame. Dick Van Dyke and Dolly Parton come to mind, but too many who’ve found themselves propelled into fame […]
Can Visuals Interfere With Your Argument/Testimony?
Our world has become a ‘world-in-pictures’ with virtually everything translated into a visual format, or at the very least, accompanied by an icon or picture of some related sort. Given this reality, litigators have been encouraged to create visuals and graphics to support the presentation of their case, to the maximum allowed by the Court. […]
The Power of Privacy: Juror Questionnaires
You would think that potential jurors, knowing that their written juror questionnaires will be scrutinized by the lawyers on both sides and by trial consultants and other professionals, would respond to written queries the same as they do to oral voir dire. Not. Fascinating research (Flores, 2011) revealed something I long suspected from years of […]
Persuasion 101: Seeing is Believing
A few years back, a Brigham City orthopedic surgeon (Dr. Dewey MacKay) claimed that the jury mistakenly convicted him of illegally prescribing medication because they neither understood the facts of the case, nor how chronic pain is managed. Jurors interviewed at the time, however, said Dr. Mackay’s comments were misguided. The jurors were emphatic that […]
Create a Trustworthy First Impression
Personal experience tells us how powerful first impressions are. Indeed, research reinforces our innate understanding of first impressions. The study suggests it takes just 20 seconds to detect whether a stranger is genetically inclined to being trustworthy, kind or compassionate. That’s less than a minute for you, or your witnesses, to establish a credible first […]