Jurors will not find for what they
don’t understand. Simple, right? Yet laying your case out in such a way that jurors
readily understand can be more challenging than it at first appears, due to
what the authors of the book “Made to Stick” call “the Curse of Knowledge.”
Namely, that you are so deeply
steeped in your case, the issues of your case, the whys and wherefores of your
case, that you can’t imagine what it is like not to know about it.
Oh, sure, you are well aware that
the jurors are uninformed as to the legal aspects of the case, but too often,
you don’t tune in to how necessary it is to explain everything about your case
in a way your jurors can readily and easily understand.
This doesn’t mean to give excessive
detail. It doesn’t mean to “talk down” to jurors, either, a phrase I heartily
dislike. Jurors are no different than the folks you interact with every day,
from the barista to your mechanic to your support staff. They just have
different areas of expertise in which they are far better informed than you
are.
Build your jurors’ confidence in
their ability to make a wise decision in rendering their verdict by
streamlining your arguments, and presenting your key evidence with stunning
clarity. Wherever you can, use visuals to further clarify and explain.
Whenever possible, run a focus group
of individuals similar to your jury pool. They will tell you, with unerring
accuracy, exactly what persons not afflicted with the “Curse of Knowledge” will
understand and fail to understand.
And yes, that includes how your
experts present their testimony as well.
A WINNING CASE Dr. Noelle Nelson recently consulted on:
*Congratulations to A. Barry
Cappello and Leila J. Noël of Cappello & Noël, LLP, and
co-counsel, Proskauer Rose, LLP for their Defense Verdict.
After an eight-week trial and less than four hours of deliberation, a Santa
Barbara Superior Court jury rejected a $27 million lawsuit filed by Johnson
& Johnson/Mentor Worldwide LLC against Santa Barbara-based Sientra, Inc.
for interference with prospective economic advantage, contract interference,
breach of fiduciary duty and misappropriation of trade secrets.
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A
new book by Dr. Noelle Nelson
Check
out the book trailer
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Take advantage of the “It’s Free!”
promotion: on October 1, 2 and 3, you can “buy” Got A Bad Boss? for $0.00 at Amazon.
It’s a Kindle e-book, but you
don’t need a Kindle in order to read it. Amazon offers free Kindle apps for your
PC, Mac, Smartphone, iPad and more.
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