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 […]
The True Value of Computer/AI Animation In Court
Most cases that don’t settle end up in trial because there are grey areas in the case–situations or testimony that can be interpreted in different ways. Computer/AI animation in court is often thought of as an effective, albeit expensive, way to show events. Research tells us, however, that there is a much more compelling reason […]
Answer a Primordial Question for the Jurors: Who?
The names, acronyms and abbreviations so familiar to you are not to the jurors. You may think that saying, for example, “Acme Building Supply, which we’ll now call ABS for convenience,” is enough to warrant saying “ABS” through the rest of your trial. But “ABS” has no guts to it, has no uniqueness, no personality. […]
Explain “Why” to Make Your Case Matter to the Jurors
In a courtroom, it isn’t necessarily the attorney with the best facts who wins, but the attorney who best explains the relevance of those facts both to the case and to the jurors. Certainly, you need solid evidence, but here we’re talking about what you need to do to get the edge. What, given the […]
A Mind-Boggling Social Experiment Proves the Importance of First Impressions
If you ever wondered just how important the jurors’ first impressions of your client and witnesses are, here’s a mind-boggling social experiment, posted on Facebook. It shows people walking right past well-known and loved family members, not recognizing a single one of them, when the family members were dressed as homeless individuals, sitting as the […]
Don’t Undermine The Value of Your Focus Group
Too often, lawyers ask focus group jurors to deliberate and discuss only the verdict questions. This is a woefully inadequate use of the focus group.