The Confessional Collides with the Courts in ‘Higher Law’
This week’s episode of “Bull” – “A Higher Law” – featured an unusual suspect: A Catholic priest. He’s pulled over driving behind the wheel of a dinged-up, bloodied vehicle, with alcohol on his breath. He’s subsequently arrested for a fatal hit-and-run of a young female jogger. Facing up to 20 years in prison, most folks... Read More
‘Bull’ Stages Some Ridiculous ICE-capades
Hollywood hijacked reality in this week’s episode of “Bull.” Let’s shake things up this week and play a game of “Truth or Bull.” But first, a quick synopsis. If you watch the show, you may want to skip this column as the entire piece will be a ginormous spoiler. This week’s episode, “Separation,” had two... Read More
Art Imitates Life in ‘Bull’
Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art? Life is messy. And this week’s episode of “Bull” captured the essence of not only a messy life, but the angst that defendants experience when feeling wrongly accused. Dr. Jason Bull, the charming yet slightly narcissistic psychologist who runs a state-of-the-art trial sciences firm, has once again found a... Read More
Hints of Truth, but a Lot of Bull
It’s not every day that I’m asked to review a television show co-created, produced and written by my former boss, Dr. Phil McGraw. Bull, the not-so-new CBS drama features Dr. Jason Bull, a trial scientist and jury consultant who has all sorts of tricks up his sleeve. He dances around the rules of procedure... Read More
CourtroomLogic Consulting, LLC, Named Dallas’ Best Jury Consultant in Annual Survey
CourtroomLogic Consulting, LLC, is honored to be selected by the readers of Texas Lawyer as one of Texas’ Best Jury Consultants in the publication’s annual survey of businesses serving the legal community.
What Jurors Really Think, Part 4: Professionalism
Last week, I had the opportunity to talk with members of the Forensic Expert Witness Association about what jurors expect from expert witnesses. As I was preparing my speech, I was reminded that what happens inside the courtroom is not unlike what happens in the theatre: There are lead actors, supporting actors, protagonists, antagonists, conflict,... Read More
What Jurors Really Think, Part 3: Presenting Evidence
As we continue digesting the information contained in the Cornell University School of Law Review article authored by Judge Amy St. Eve and former-law-clerk-now-law-firm-partner Gretchen Scavo, I want to shift the focus to the heart of the matter: presenting evidence. (If you haven’t already read my prior posts on this subject, they were on Organization and Delivery and... Read More
What Jurors Really Think, Part 2: Delivery
In the world of law, where every word matters, attorneys are often so focused on crafting the perfect question, or squeezing the best facts into a 30-minute Opening Statement, that they forget about one critical element that can determine their success or failure with jurors: delivery. It’s no secret that the majority of communication is... Read More
What Jurors Really Think, Part 1: Organization
U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve and Gretchen Scavo, her former law clerk who now oversees attorney training at Winston & Strawn’s Litigation Department, wanted to know what actual jurors liked – and more importantly, didn’t like – about trial attorneys. Between 2011 and 2017, they gathered unfiltered written feedback from more than 500... Read More
Breakfast of (Courtroom) Champions
I don’t actually eat Wheaties anymore, but their iconic cereal boxes – featuring exceptional athletes from every era and every sport – taught me something very important: fuel your body and you, too, can be a winner. You may be wondering what on earth a box of Wheaties has to do with your legal practice,... Read More