The first mark of a person worthy of juror respect is honesty, someone who doesn’t lie, cheat or steal. Persons – or entities – can be guilty of all manner of wrong-doing, but as long as they don’t lie about it or try to cover it up (cheating & stealing the truth), jurors will be more forgiving.
Why is this important? Because jurors, as impartial and reasoned as we would like them to be – aren’t. Jurors are people first, jurors second, and people all over the world are motivated by their emotions. Emotion literally means “to move.”
So, whether you are defense or plaintiff, if you can show how the other side’s client/witnesses lied, cheated or stole, you are more likely to rouse the jurors to righteous indignation or downright anger.
With that, you can help move the jurors over to your interpretation of the facts. And that’s what winning your case is all about.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
Tell Your Story With Timelines
The more complex the case, the more important it is that you simplify and clarify events and circumstances for the jurors. A timeline is one of the most effective ways to organize facts in a way that makes them relevant to jurors. We are used to stories being presented chronologically – the chronology alone often will tell the story. Use a timeline, or several, whenever possible. You can create these yourself fairly easily with any decent graphics program, and there are also specialized trial software programs available for this purpose.
Timelines, whether on a board or projected onto a screen, should be presented with time on the horizontal axis whenever possible. It demonstrates the movement of time from left to right, a progression jurors are very familiar with. When presented with a timeline depicting time on a vertical axis, jurors are much more readily confused.
A horizontal timeline allows you to show events above and below the line representating time, be that in minutes, days or years. This is a very effective way to organize information, You can, for example, show the evidence that directly favors your case in fact “flags” above the date line, and show the inconsistencies in opposing counsel’s case in the fact flags below the date line. Or, for example, you can contrast plaintiff’s stated behavior at points in time on the above line fact flags, with the medical reports on the below the line fact flags. Timelines of any kind should be used creatively, not just as markers in time, but as ways to tell your story even more persuasively.
Timelines, whether on a board or projected onto a screen, should be presented with time on the horizontal axis whenever possible. It demonstrates the movement of time from left to right, a progression jurors are very familiar with. When presented with a timeline depicting time on a vertical axis, jurors are much more readily confused.
A horizontal timeline allows you to show events above and below the line representating time, be that in minutes, days or years. This is a very effective way to organize information, You can, for example, show the evidence that directly favors your case in fact “flags” above the date line, and show the inconsistencies in opposing counsel’s case in the fact flags below the date line. Or, for example, you can contrast plaintiff’s stated behavior at points in time on the above line fact flags, with the medical reports on the below the line fact flags. Timelines of any kind should be used creatively, not just as markers in time, but as ways to tell your story even more persuasively.
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