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Litigation Advocacy Archive
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Schadenfreude In The Courtroom: Nonobvious Pleasures at Obvious Distress
by Adele Mantiply and Michelle A. Jones and Stanley L. Brodsky, Ph.D.Posted on December 1, 2015 | No CommentsSchadenfreude, the experience of taking pleasure from the distress of another, is often in the courtroom. While schadenfreude might be a natural and understandable reaction to the contentious and possibly emotional environment of a courtroom, these researchers also address whether it can lead to harmful effects, and end by discussing ways to examine this phenomenon empirically. -
Untying Tongues: Preparing Witnesses Who Have Limited English Proficiency (LEP)
by Alexis Forbes, Ph.D. and Will Rountree, J.D., Ph.D.Posted on December 1, 2015 | 2 CommentsAs the litigation environment continues to evolve, we need to prepare witnesses for whom English is not a first language and those with limited English proficiency (LEP). Here, two trial consultants walk us through the issues inherent in witness preparation when your witness is not proficient in English and give strategies for sensitivity and success in witness preparation with LEP witnesses. -
Revealing Juror Bias Without Biasing Your Juror: Experimental Evidence For Best Practice Survey And Voir Dire Questions
by Mykol C. Hamilton, PhD and Kate Zephyrhawke, MAPosted on December 1, 2015 | 13 CommentsProspective jurors "know" the "right answer" to the questions on whether they can be fair and unbiased. But in this research, two academics show us how traditional voir dire and survey questions pose the question in a way that elicits a drastic under-reporting of individual biases. This article shows how to ask questions to help jurors acknowledge their biases (which we all have) in ways that does not shame them or make them feel like "bad people" for having biases. -
Jury Decision-making in Excuse Defense Cases: A Novel Methodological Approach
by Christopher S. Peters, Ph.D. and James Michael Lampinen, Ph.D.Posted on December 1, 2015 | 1 CommentAs you plan the structure of your case narrative, here's a novel idea for figuring out what prospective jurors find most intriguing about your case. These researchers used a card sort task to have jurors identify which aspects of the case they wanted to hear about first. It's an intriguing look at case presentation planning. -
Uncommon Wisdom from Everyday People: 13 Lessons from Patent and IP Mock Jurors
by Douglas L. Keene, Ph.D. and Rita R. Handrich, Ph.D.Posted on December 1, 2015 | 6 Comments13 lessons gleaned from mock jurors over more than 15 years of patent and intellectual property work. In cases involving computer hardware and software, industrial processes, mechanical devices, logos and color schemes, tag lines and slogans—jurors have told us what is important to them about disputes involving patents, copyrights, trademarks, and creativity. -
The Collapse of Civil Jury Trial and What To Do About It
by Renée Lettow LernerPosted on August 28, 2015 | 7 CommentsAre we witnessing the death of the civil jury system? Perhaps. A GWU professor lays out the case for abolishing the civil jury and Susie Macpherson (a trial consultant) and Tom Melsheimer (a litigator) respond. -
Abolition of Juries: The Switzerland Experience
by Dr. Gwladys Gilliéron, LL.M and Yves Benda, M.Sc. and Stanley L. Brodsky, Ph.D.Posted on August 28, 2015 | 2 CommentsWhat happened in Switzerland when they abolished civil juries? -
Do Trial Consultants Spell the End of Justice?
by Adam Benforado, J.D.Posted on August 28, 2015 | 1 CommentDo trial consultants spell the end of justice? Or the other way around? Or, perhaps, somewhere in the middle? -
Hunting Dinosaurs? A Conversation with Steve Susman and Tara Trask on the Vanishing Jury Trial
by L. Hailey Drescher, M.A.Posted on August 28, 2015 | 1 CommentAn exciting new project at NYU: The Civil Jury Project. Here's a conversation between Steve Susman and Tara Trask about the project. -
Juries, Joinder, and Justice
by Krystia Reed, M.A. and Brian H. Bornstein, Ph.D., MLSPosted on August 28, 2015 | 1 CommentHow should you act differently on joinder when in a civil or criminal trial? Here's research to aid you with two trial consultant reactions.