Announcing The Jury Expert

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If you try cases to juries, ideas like these are likely to catch your attention:

• "It is important to recognize that [Baby] Boomers are often traditionalists. They may use technology happily or begrudgingly, but as a whole they view it as something to augment the old way, not replace it."
• "Death-qualified jurors are more likely to be racist, sexist, and homophobic. They are more likely to weigh aggravating circumstances (i.e., arguments for death) more heavily than mitigating circumstances. Death-qualified jurors are more likely to evaluate ambiguous expert scientific testimony more favorably." (Each of those sentences cites to at least one research study.)
• "Imagine having the ability to walk into a deposition, hand your iPod to the court reporter, have her download the deposition transcript, hand it to the other side and have them download all their exhibits, then hand it to the videographer and download the deposition video onto it as well."
• "Witnesses operate under the assumption that if they are intending to be truthful then the truth is what comes out and gets across to the audience. . . . That assumption is wrong."
• "Pay attention to three things: (1) the facts [jurors] use to answer your question, (2) the emotion they use to express themselves, and (3) the intention behind the words."
• "If your legal pad and seating chart with one-inch squares are no longer cutting it to manage all the information you learn during voir dire, keep reading."

They all come from the same source: the debut online edition of The Jury Expert, the bimonthly publication of the American Society of Trial Consultants. The idea is to offer useful thoughts from respected jury consultants, often and free of charge. Take a look, and let us know what you think. (I say "us" because I'm part of the communications committee that cheered as TJE's editor Rita Handrich of Keene Trial Consulting and her team worked very hard and unveiled an impressive product.) You can subscribe free by E-mail, comment on and rate articles, and download them in .pdf format. This edition's articles are, and the quotes above are from them in this order:

• "Four Generations in the Jury Box: Tailor Your Message, Make the Connection," by Cam Marston of Generational Insights
• "Caveats of the Death-Qualified Jury: Ways Capital Defense Attorneys Can Use Psycholegal Research to Their Advantage," by Brooke Butler, Ph.D
• "How to Successfully Integrate an iPod into Your Litigation Practice," by David Mykel of Courtroom Sciences, Inc.
• "Witness Preparation: Hidden False Assumptions, Real Truths and Recommendations (Part One)," by David Illig of Litigation Psychology
• "What Do You Hear When You Listen? Five Principles with Tips for Developing Critical Listening Skills," by Diane Wyzga of Lightning Rod Communications
• "Practical Tools for Staying Organized during Voir Dire and Jury Selection," by Kelley Tobin of Tobin Trial Consulting