Jessica BryloJan 26, 20155 minHolmes (Aurora Theater Shooting) Jury Selection Q&AWith the Holmes jury selection underway and the whole world watching, I thought it relevant to tap into some of the issues that are likel...
Jessica BryloApr 7, 20132 minDo You Really Win or Lose Your Case In Jury Selection?It’s been said many times that you win or lose your case in jury selection. But is this really true? Is jury selection so critically impo...
Jessica BryloSep 6, 20122 minJurors United? Something to Consider During Jury SelectionThe jurors in the Drew Peterson case are drawing some media attention. While it seems to be out of a movie (Runaway Jury, in fact), the j...
Jessica BryloAug 15, 20122 minWhat To Do (And Not Do) With Short Voir Dire TimeVoir dire time in many places is now limited to 15-30 minutes (if you get attorney-conducted voir dire at all!). Aside from filing motion...
Jessica BryloMay 20, 20122 minWhere You Are Losing Leverage With PreponderancePreponderance is one major foundation of all civil lawsuits. If jurors truly made their decisions on the basis of more likely right than w...
Jessica BryloMay 8, 20122 minMaximizing your Budget for Voir DireThe more I am called in to help attorneys with jury selection, the more I realize their money may have been spent better elsewhere. Am I ...
Jessica BryloFeb 6, 20122 minHow to Use “Herd Mentality” to Your AdvantageAs advanced as humans are, we are still primitively just mammals belonging to a herd. Animals and people stay in herds because it provid...
Jessica BryloJan 12, 20123 minWhat Do Jurors Care About?Do you ever feel like jurors decided your case randomly or based on something other than the evidence you presented? It’s highly probabl...
Jessica BryloNov 2, 20111 minHave a Little Faith…In JurorsI often come across attorneys who have trouble trusting jurors. I can’t blame them – it’s hard to give up control over your case to the ...
Jessica BryloOct 22, 20112 minDetecting Lies During Voir DireThere have been many studies done on lie detection and the results are often disheartening. Most of us, including police officers, fare ...
Jessica BryloAug 18, 20112 minDo Jurors Get “Poisoned” During Voir Dire?Attorneys are often worried about asking questions in voir dire that elicit responses that are harmful to your side of the case. For exa...
Jessica BryloJun 20, 20112 minGroup Dynamics & Jury SelectionWhen you are selection (or de-selecting) jurors, it is easy to focus on individual jurors to the point that you forget about how jurors a...
Jessica BryloApr 15, 20111 minUseless SJQ Proposed in Criminal TrialIt still astounds me how unaware the court system and some attorneys are regarding juror bias and prejudice. In this article (click for ...
Jessica BryloMar 6, 20112 minBeing Transparent During Voir DireAttorneys often make the mistake in voir dire of failing to be honest with jurors. I often see attorneys try to hide bad facts or spend ...
Jessica BryloFeb 3, 20113 minDealing with the CSI EffectYou may have heard of the “CSI Effect.” It is a more recent phenomenon that is so named because it is caused in good part by television ...
Jessica BryloJan 25, 20112 minDealing with Juror MisconceptionsThe law is daunting. Half the time, attorneys don’t even understand what legal writings mean and yet every day, we ask lay persons to de...
Jessica BryloJan 23, 20113 minThe Art of Voir DireSome cases end after jury selection – you’ve either set yourself up to win or lose the trial. But the result normally does not revolve a...