Separating Jurors’ Desire to Help From Their Verdict

Juror sympathy is a force to be reckoned with, despite judges' instructions telling them to separate emotion from verdict, as we have explored before in this space.  But the more important question to us is how a plaintiff might be able to secure a verdict based on sympathy alone.

Consider some of our recent focus group cases, when staunchly defense-minded jurors indicated willingness to change their verdict once they learned their inclinations meant the plaintiff would not get any money.  Again, these were participants who not only believed there was no breach in the standard of care, but were also convinced in most cases of an alternate, more logical cause for the plaintiff’s injuries than the alleged negligence.  Yet they were willing to put these convictions aside in the name of compensating the plaintiff.

In a recent national survey we conducted of more than 800 potential jurors throughout the United States, one-fifth of the participants – 20.2 percent – stated they would be more likely to side with the plaintiff if they knew a vote for the defendant meant the plaintiff wouldn’t get any money.  They believed this to be true “even if a seriously injured plaintiff hadn’t convinced you to support their case.”

In looking more closely at those 20.2 percent, a few commonalities stood out.  Those most likely to side with the plaintiff to ensure they would get money were young and “untethered.”  For example, 18- to 29-year-olds, those who rent, single people and the unemployed were all almost twice as likely to say they would be more likely to side with the plaintiff.  Surprising to us was the fact that those who currently serve in the military were nearly three times as likely to vote for the plaintiff in this scenario.

We have had some success in shifting this mindset by focusing jurors on one of the concepts they hold most dear: fairness.  By asking jurors if it is fair to find against a defendant they truly do not feel did anything wrong, they oftentimes conclude on their own that although they would like to find a way to give the plaintiff money, it would not be just to do so.

If you have a case where you’re concerned jurors’ desire to help the plaintiff may prompt them to ignore what they truly believe about liability, contact Jury Impact Senior Vice President Claire Luna at cluna@juryimpact.net or 714.754.1010.  We would love to talk with you.

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Are any of you planning to attend the 2014 DRI Trucking Law Seminar in Las Vegas this month?  If so, please make sure to say hi to Claire, who will be leading a presentation on working with challenging witnesses.