Consultants of the jury have been made popular in the mainstream world and language by leading law and legal TV series with their complex analysis systems and cunning psychology tricks. But is what the films say to be true or is it a mirage? Well, lawyers do in fact use the help of these consultants especially for High-profile and high-stake jury trials. Those cannot be left for gut and chance but instead need the involvement of the experts.
The expertise of the consultants may vary from case to case but most times, they are human behavior experts. Their expertise can be used by attorneys to select jurors and provide insight and predictions to their behavior. Their presence is important in criminal trials and complex civil litigation.
Some of the ways a jury consultant like Rick M. Goldberg & Associates can help your trial include:
Helping in the court proceedings
A jury consultant can help in the process of Voir Dire. This is the process where oral questions are presented to the jurors to make sure that they do not have any biases or any fore-knowledge of the involved parties that may infringe on the accused’s right to an impartial duty
With the advice and information of a jury consultant, it is possible to formulate the right questions and challenge particular jurors. They research the juror’s background and create reliable profiles to help analyze the jurors better. Since the process of Voir Dire is done very quickly, it can be difficult to sort out the massive data coming in.
A jury consultant can come in handy in finding ways to slow down the process and make intelligent decisions for juror challenges. Some of this may involve providing insight into the jurors’ body language and behavior at trial and the opinion of the masses about the trial.
Case evaluation
Apart from helping select the members of the jury, a jury consultant can also help you craft arguments and develop winning court strategies. They can also help to create courtroom graphics and multimedia presentations for you and have opening and closing arguments. This way, you can have a persuasive story to show the courtroom and the jury.
It is also easy to develop a tunnel vision when working on a case and this bias can also spread on as an influence to your team and your client. With a jury consultant, you can be able to get a fresh perspective on the case and see loopholes you had not seen before. It is always best to make sure that the jury consultant is involved right from the beginning so that their input is considered when deciding to take the case to trial or not.
In case it does go to trial, a jury consultant can help to shape the theme around the trial as the case develops rather than on the eve of the trial. This makes your theme more solid and relatable to the jury.
Preparing witnesses to take the stand
Most witnesses who take the stand are doing so for the first time and the cross-fire examination and indignations of attorneys can catch the off-guard and hurt your case. Good witness preparation certainly goes beyond saying “just tell the truth”. It is also on how the truth is said; the intonation and the implications to the jury. A jury consultant will help set up mock trials so that your witness is prepared and can have a feel of a real court proceeding.
Conclusion
A jury consultant is very important to the victory of your cases. They free you up to look into the arguments as they deal with the sociology and psychology of the case. However, there are a lot of under qualified jury consultants cropping up as this profession continues to gain popularity so be sure to pick a qualified jury consultant firm with a good reputation.