Eminent domain litigation is unique in that prior to trial, the parties know the range of values for the property in dispute that jurors are likely to award. This certainty about damages is unlike many other types of cases in…
We have studied more than 150 cases and interviewed over 1,000 jurors. The following juror comments excerpted from post-trial interviews illustrate factors which routinely affect the effectiveness of expert witness testimony. Over-Rehearsed Testimony Testimony that sounds as if it has been rehashed…
Although the American public is more sophisticated today about jury trials than it was ten or even five years ago, damage awards continue to be an issue about which the public is unsure. The amount of damages to award in…
Judges typically do not like to grant cause challenges. This fact, coupled with the burden of uncovering juror bias, makes it increasingly difficult for attorneys to have jurors excused for cause. There are numerous techniques that attorneys can utilize to…
It is often remarked that at heart, trial attorneys are storytellers. While that remark contains an important grain of truth, trial attorneys work under severe constraints compared to a Balzac, Shakespeare, or Dickens. Trial attorneys don’t have freedom to create…
Anxiety, fear, and nervousness about different aspects of everyday life seem endemic among the American public. While most people have learned to cope with their anxieties and fears under the normal demands of their life, few are adept at coping…
In any case postured for trial, the defense usually has bad facts or circumstances on its side to make losing on liability a live possibility. Effective jury selection techniques therefore help flush out high damages jurors as well as jurors…