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 | I have a major motor vehicle case going to trial shortly. What kind of juror outlook and attitudes should I plan for, or avoid, when I pick the jury in a personal injury case involving motor vehicles? |
 |  Your jurors are sure to come to the courthouse with preconceptions built upon their past experiences. They often approach driving issues with a particularly strong set of fixed ideas because it is such a familiar part of their world. Your goal will be to de-select pool members whose bias is likely to be harmful if you can, and to craft your case narrative to correspond to the seated jurors' entrenched expectations and beliefs. Since we know you cannot eliminate all bias in jurors, you must find a way to identify it, and either work around it or make it operate in favor of your client.
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| • | | Coordination of Equipment in the Courtroom |
| Dylan Green, Trial Presentation Consultant |
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 As technology becomes the norm for trials, attorneys and their staff are posed with new obstacles when it comes to trial logistics. Many courtrooms are fully equipped with projectors, screens, document cameras (ELMOs), monitors, touchscreens, easles and speakers, with more receiving similar treatment every day; but what do you do when you are going into an unfamiliar venue in which it is up to you to provide the hardware and what do you do when opposing counsel wants to share? |
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| • | | The Law and Ethics of Graphics in the Court Room |
| Ron Kurzman, Litigation Consultant / Partner |
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News Flash: we live in a visual society! Since the advent of television, expansion of the graphics arts and the explosion of the Internet we have gradually been moving away from the spoken word and leaping towards the visual message. As a society we have lost our patience for long explanations; rather we like our information delivered immediately. We turn to visuals to assist us in understanding information quickly.
Diagrams, charts, maps and drawings have long been recognized as extremely useful, if not necessary, in jury trials. Matters presented visually are more readily understood than those presented in verbal form, and graphics generally tend to have a far more convincing effect on a jury than mere testimonial evidence. |
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| • | | Liar, Liar Pants on Fire |
| Hiliary Remick, Litigation Consultant |
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 Overheard in the Lunchroom: While in the office lunchroom the other day, I overheard a conversation about the hot new Fox Network show "Lie to Me". Two people were marveling over the ability of the show's main character, Dr. Cal Lightman, to know when witnesses are telling a lie. In "Lie to Me", Lightman is a world renowned expert in body language and facial expression, who helps police investigate crimes - and spots the liar every time. My lunchroom interlocutors seemed convinced that the fictional Dr. Lightman practiced the latest in real-world science and that his impressive methods are a sample of the tools available to those of us who see and assess witnesses and their credibility. |
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| • | | Jury Consulting as a Trial Preparation Tool |
| S. Ross Suter, Litigation Consultant |
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| It is common for consultants such as Magna to find that attorneys, often at the direction of their clients, wait until a month, two weeks, or even just one week prior to trial before calling for our help with a jury research project, preparation of trial graphics or the trial presentation database. While it is generally feasible to offer that support quickly, the Litigants do not realize any hoped-for cost savings from "holding off" until just before trial. |
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