This blog post was written by Erik Kancler, who works on government and media relations and who is writing on behalf of Economic Fairness Oregon. A former BlueOregon contributor, Erik has previously worked as a scientist, journalist, nonprofit director, and as policy adviser to the Oregon Senate Democrats. There is simply no good reason, principled, … Read More
How to be Effective in Jury Selection: Be Respectful and Personable
“You will attract more bears with honey than with vinegar.” It may be a cliche, but it is nevertheless true. During voir dire you should always be respectful of a potential juror’s opinion, no matter how much you might disagree with it. Moreover, thank potential jurors who disagree with your position for sharing their opinions. … Read More
How to be Effective During Jury Selection: Access the Reptilian Brain
The fourth tip that I want to blog about in this series of posts concerning the voir dire process at trial concerns what is called “the reptilian brain”. Recent research has been performed concerning the reptilian brain and David Ball spoke on the subject at the 2008 American Association of Justice (AAJ) Winter Convention. The … Read More
Jury Selction Trick: “Attitude” vs “Influence”
I stumbled across a trick a few years ago at a continuing legal education (CLE) class that summarized what we all do instinctively and I wanted to share it with you in this third installment of my voir dire tips blog series. Here is the trick that was articulated for us all at the CLE: … Read More
How to be Effective in Jury Selection: Introduce the Issues
In my last post I discussed my first tip for plaintiff attorneys in voir dire: letting an associate or paralegal take notes for you so that you can focus 100 percent of your effort and energy during jury selection on building rapport with the jury pool. I believe, based on my experience, that developing rapport … Read More
How to be Effective During Jury Selection: Let Someone Else Take Your Notes
This series of blog posts will present my top tips during jury selection. In the past five years, I have tried cases in many of the most conservative counties in Oregon and I have the battle scars to prove it. Having been fortunate enough to walk into a litigation position straight out of law school, … Read More