Make A Point Everyone Understands

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it’s only effective if it uses the right words.  As we have said before in this space, visual aids can be a key way to communicate information at trial.  But an infographic or visual that you think clearly communicates with jurors may not be as comprehensible as you think. Pew Research recently conducted a survey asking respondents about their knowledge on several science questions.  The list included a scatterplot graph showing the correlation between sugar consumption and decayed teeth.   Only 63 percent of Americans could read the graph correctly.  This issue became even more apparent when the data was broken down by education – only half of those with a high school education or less understood the graph.  Having a visual aid is only helpful if the jury understands it.  The majority of your jury pool isn’t likely to be composed of college graduates (where eight out of 10 could decipher the scatterplot correctly), increasing the chance your visual will fly right over their heads.  We’ve outlined some helpful tips to ensure your graphics are effective and simple to understand for all your jurors: Simplicity is Key – Limit the amount of information you include on a visual aid.  You don’t want to overwhelm your jurors with 10 different points of information on a graph where important information can get lost in the shuffle.  Instead, use just a handful of bullet points.  If you’re using a graph to illustrate a relationship, limit it to a relationship between two or three points.   Highlight the Main Point of the Graphic – Outlining a specific bar in a bar chart or using a different color for a particular point in a timeline will help to place your point in the context of the whole story, allowing jurors to focus on your message. Explain Your Visual Aid – It may seem obvious to some, but you’d be surprised at the presentations we’ve seen where speakers leave their chart open to interpretation.  Clearly explain what each aspect of the visual aid means and how it relates to your overall story. Plan Your Presentation Without Graphics – Not only is this helpful in case technology goes awry in the courtroom, but it also sets the precedent that your visual aids are there to enhance your message, not tell it for you.  Write your presentation without the use of the graphic and see if it still makes sense. Getting a message across during trial can seem difficult, but the use of effective visual aids can help, especially if everyone on your jury can understand them.  If you would like help developing clear and effective trial demonstratives, please contact Senior Vice President Claire Luna and 714.754.1010 or cluna@juryimpact.net

Crafting an Effective Story

This holiday movie season brings with it some of our favorite franchise stories and characters of all time.  Batman faces off against Superman to protect the world in Dawn of Justice.  Katniss Everdeen prepares for the final battle against President Snow and the Capitol in Mockingjay Part 2.  And Luke, Leia and Han reunite 30 years after the Battle of Endor in The Force Awakens.  These stories endure because people care deeply for the characters and long to see what happens in the classic battle between good and evil.

As trial attorneys, you certainly wish jurors would enter the courtroom with the same enthusiasm they have when they enter the theater showing the latest blockbuster.  Here are some tips to help you develop an interesting story to keep your jurors interested and invested in your client’s story:

Characters – Good stories start with good characters.  In your story, your main characters are the plaintiff and defendant, and your supporting cast members are your witnesses.  Your job is to bring your characters to life so the jury can better understand their motivations.  It’s your job to explain who they are, where they came from, why they made the decisions they made and why your jurors should trust them (or not).

Setting – Setting provides the anchor for your story by giving jurors context.  If your story has many significant dates and times, your jurors will thank you for creating a timeline to help them organize the information.  Additionally, we all love picture books, and if it makes sense to include pictures of the setting, doing so will help jurors visualize the story.  Both of these small acts will also help you establish credibility.

Plot – The plot is the driving force behind your story.  Skilled writers start with a good theme and weave their facts around it.  Instead of seeking to change your jurors’ core values, you should develop a theme that fits within their preconceived definitions of fairness and justice.  Remember to keep your plot points simple and well organized without immersing your jurors in too much detail – your job is to try the case, not your jurors’ patience.  Revisit your theme when you question witnesses and introduce new facts.  Repetition will keep your message fresh in jurors' minds.

  

Conflict – You should address the conflict of your story as early as possible by telling jurors the claims against your client and how you intend to prove he or she acted reasonably.  We suggest using opening statements as an opportunity to precondition jurors to the unfavorable points in your case.  Owning the conflict in your story shows jurors you’re confident you will overcome it.

Resolution of conflict – It is important for jurors to know how they can make your story right.  Think of this as the “Choose Your Own Adventure” aspect of the story, in that jurors can choose how justice will be carried out.  Once again, you should reinforce your theme and advise jurors that a ruling in your favor is the only way traditional notions of justice can be reached.

Storytelling is an art form, and we understand the challenges of telling the right story.  If you need help developing or telling your story, contact Senior Vice President Claire Luna at cluna@juryimpact.net or 714.754.1010.

With Witnesses, Focus on the Big Picture First

We’ve found that when prepping a witness for trial or deposition, many attorneys jump right into the medical records, corporate documents, employment files or other minutiae.

It’s understandable, because these are the documents you use to build your case – but we believe it’s misguided.  We believe it’s first necessary to focus on the big-picture themes that form the bedrock of your case, and only delve into the details when the witness has internalized the bigger ideas.

From our perspective, the first and most important goal of a prep session should be to formulate the witness’ message safeground – an idea (or two or three) that encapsulates the witness’ message to the jury and serves as a lens through which the witness can view the details.  Keeping the message safeground in mind allows the witness to see how the details fit into the bigger theme of the case.

What the message safeground is not is a rote statement for the witness to repeat ad nauseum.  Instead, a witness should keep the message safeground in the back of his or her mind and consider how each detail to be covered during testimony relates to that theme.  This results in testimony that is both consistent and supports your broader theme of the case.

We’ve prepped hundreds of witnesses of all types through the years, and the message safeground is just one aspect of the successful process we’ve developed.  If you have a witness that could use our help, contact Senior Vice President Claire Luna at cluna@juryimpact.net or 714.754.1010.

Get to Know Your Jurisdiction

We have long believed learning as much as possible about your trial jurisdiction is an important but often overlooked part of the trial preparation process.  This may seem obvious if the jurisdiction is a county or state that is unfamiliar to you, but we believe it is equally true even if you’re in your home jurisdiction where you’ve tried dozens of cases.

Just because we live and work in a place doesn’t mean we always know everything about it. People tend to associate with others like themselves, so we may not be exposed to those in our own communities who see the world differently than we do.  These disparate worldviews can and often do affect how jurors will see a case.

It is also true that times change, and any given jurisdiction may not be the same as it was 20, 10 or even five years ago.  For example, a gay plaintiff might have had a hard time getting a fair shake in some jurisdictions a decade or two ago, but that might not be true any more for many of those same jurisdictions.

Similarly, demographic trends – such as an increasing number of Hispanics in many parts of the country or young, affluent people flocking to inner cities – can impact the composition and attitudes of a potential jury pool.

There are also case-specific factors you should consider as you assess your jurisdiction.  For example, we’ve noticed that even extremely conservative, predominantly white jurisdictions have become more receptive to police brutality and wrongful conviction lawsuits as these issues have been front and center in the news during the past couple of years.  Similarly, media attention to the issue of “pill mills” and prescription drug abuse has affected how many people see the use of narcotics in medicine, and these perceptions and attitudes can impact how jurors assess a doctor’s care.

The point is, there are myriad demographic and sociographic factors at play in any given jurisdiction and for any given case.  No matter how much experience you have in a place, we believe it is worth exploring the attitudes in your jurisdiction and how they might affect perspectives on your case.

There are many ways to do this, of course, but one way is through Jury Impact’s community surveys.  We work with the client to craft a customized survey and then field it to a representative sample of your jurisdiction using proprietary technology developed by our sister company, MFour Mobile Research. 

Through a community survey, we can explore attitudes about everything from the reputation of a hospital or company to thoughts about a relevant hot-button issue.  It can provide an incredible amount of intel – useful during voir dire during every trial in a jurisdiction – for a relatively modest investment.

We’d be happy to walk you through our community surveys and what they can offer you. To find out more, contact Senior Vice President Claire Luna at cluna@juryimpact.net or 714.754.1010.