Contusions. Are they hair? Bones? Perhaps another name for wisdom teeth?
The Onion posted an amusing article Monday about a juror who spent an entire trial confused about the meaning of the word “contusion” because he was too embarrassed to ask – and no one bothered to explain it. Unfortunately, it’s funnier because it’s true. Far too often, attorneys and witnesses throw around jargon in the courtroom without bothering to explain basic terms. It goes along with knowing your case, or your line of work, far too well and assuming others have the same base of knowledge that you do.
The Onion posted an amusing article Monday about a juror who spent an entire trial confused about the meaning of the word “contusion” because he was too embarrassed to ask – and no one bothered to explain it. Unfortunately, it’s funnier because it’s true. Far too often, attorneys and witnesses throw around jargon in the courtroom without bothering to explain basic terms. It goes along with knowing your case, or your line of work, far too well and assuming others have the same base of knowledge that you do.
These assumptions can prove problematic, and could potentially derail your entire case. There’s the minor issues, such as the length of a full-term pregnancy, and the major ones, like clearly defining that a doctor is an independent contractor rather than a hospital employee.
It sometimes shocks clients at our focus groups that laypeople don’t know these things, and these participants’ opinions then get jettisoned because they’re uninformed. But it’s not about whether a juror is smart or dumb; IQ and education level don’t have any impact on whether a juror automatically knows a contusion is just a fancy word for bruise.
Defining terms isn’t about “dumbing down” your case (and believe us, jurors can sense when they’re being condescended to and will not be happy). It’s about making sure you’re in control of educating the jury about key terms and issues. Evaluating your case with a representative group of jurors, either in person or online, can help you figure out potential areas of confusion. Every report we produce includes a section on jurors’ verbatim questions, and making sure your trial team proactively answers those questions will give your side the courtroom advantage.
To learn more about educating your jury, contact Senior Vice President Claire Luna at cluna@juryimpact.net or 714.754.1010.
It sometimes shocks clients at our focus groups that laypeople don’t know these things, and these participants’ opinions then get jettisoned because they’re uninformed. But it’s not about whether a juror is smart or dumb; IQ and education level don’t have any impact on whether a juror automatically knows a contusion is just a fancy word for bruise.
Defining terms isn’t about “dumbing down” your case (and believe us, jurors can sense when they’re being condescended to and will not be happy). It’s about making sure you’re in control of educating the jury about key terms and issues. Evaluating your case with a representative group of jurors, either in person or online, can help you figure out potential areas of confusion. Every report we produce includes a section on jurors’ verbatim questions, and making sure your trial team proactively answers those questions will give your side the courtroom advantage.
To learn more about educating your jury, contact Senior Vice President Claire Luna at cluna@juryimpact.net or 714.754.1010.
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