When Presenting to Jurors, Sometimes Less is More

When putting together your case for trial, it can be tempting to squeeze in every piece of information you see as favorable (no matter how minor), on the theory that the more favorable evidence you present, the more the scales of justice will tip toward your side.

It’s a logical way to look at things, but that doesn’t mean it’s the most effective.  In the real world of courtrooms, the side with the most facts doesn’t always win.  Instead, it’s typically the side with the simpler story.

In fact, academic research and our own experience demonstrate you can actually hurt your case by following the “more is better” philosophy and trying to “win on points” by introducing evidence that may only be marginally or mildly favorable to your case.

That’s because research shows that audiences – whether jurors or consumers – don’t simply “add up” all the supposed favorable pieces of information presented to them.  Instead, they average them, and weaker or less favorable ones bring the strong ones down.

In one consumer study, researchers ran two advertisements about the same hotel – one ad mentioned the hotel’s five-star pool, and the other mentioned the five-star pool and the three-star restaurant.  Consumers who saw the ad mentioning only the pool said they would pay $109 per night for the hotel, but those who saw the ad mentioning the fancy pool and the three-star restaurant would pay only $92 per night for the very same hotel.  What the marketers hoped would prove to be a small benefit – a three-star restaurant – actually detracted from consumers’ perception of the hotel based on the pool alone.

It works the same in the courtroom.  Overloading jurors with mildly favorable or marginal evidence won’t necessarily have the additive effect you might hope for – instead, it could detract from the stronger aspects of your case and bring down your average.  Alternatively, we recommend focusing on the big picture and the aspects of your case that resonate most strongly with jurors.

The most important thing is to present a clear, concise thematic umbrella under which jurors can place your strongest facts, numbers or arguments.  A good presentation will arm jurors with a handful of quick and easily articulated points, which can come in handy when information overload inevitably strikes toward the end of trial.

That’s why a key part of our focus group and online research processes is to have jurors rate the effectiveness of your arguments.  We want to identify not only the home-run arguments that should feature prominently in your case, but also the low-scoring ones that failed to resonate with jurors and could actually hurt you.

If you’d like to find out about research to identify your case’s “five-star pools” and “three-star restaurants” before trial, please contact Senior Vice President Claire Luna at 714-754-1010 or cluna@juryimpact.net.