ASTC

ASTCGram: Fall 2009 Court Call

The Fall 2009 edition of Court Call is now available on the “Members Only” area of the ASTC website. In this edition, you will find:

• A letter from ASTC President Cynthia Cohen on the State of the Society,

• An interview with ASTC’s 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Andy Sheldon,

• An update on the latest activities of ASTC’s committees,

• And an open letter from new Court Call editor Sean Overland to the Society.

If you would like to suggest ideas for future Court Call articles, please feel free to contact Sean at soverland@overlandconsultinggroup.com.

Thanks,

Sean Overland

Court Call: Fall 2009,

State of the Society

Where are we as a Society in the Autumn of 2009? Today's National Law Journal’s “T ...

'09 Atlanta Conference A/V NOW AVAILABLE

Many who missed the Atlanta conference, as well as those who attended programs, asked for the DVDs. The Annual Conference DVDs are available for purchase in our ASTC online store. View the preview of Closing the Doors to the Courthouse by clicking on the video-clip.

Andy Sheldon, ASTC 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, facilitated Closing the Doors to the Courthouse. Former U.S. Attorney Doug Jones gave a closing on the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing case which reviewed the facts of several of the racially motivated murder cases from the civil rights era that resulted in sham or no trials. The powerful impact of this injustice on all Americans, black and white, had seasoned trial lawyers and trial consultants weeping.

This program and most of our ASTC Atlanta Annual Conference programs are evergreen and an asset to your office or library. Keep the memories and lessons alive through viewing the conference programs on your own time. Thanks to all of the speakers who developed A+ programs and attendees who traveled during this tough economy to support ASTC.

Cynthia R. Cohen, Ph.D., ASTC President

ASTC Mourns the Passing of a Legend...

ASTC Mourns the Passing of a Legend…

Dr. Richard J. ("Dick") Crawford, PhD., passed away this past week.

With his passing, all those dedicated to jury persuasion have lost a comrade in arms. Dick was one of the inventors of the art of trial consulting. One of Holland & Harts most visionary partners of all time, Brooke Jackson (now the Chief Judge of the Jefferson County District Court), had the foresight to entice Dick to join Holland & Hart, back in 1988, as the first in-house trial consultant in the history of the profession. Those of us who had the privilege of benefiting from his coaching, sense of humor and dedication to the jury trial will never forget him.

Here are four quotes that pretty much tell the story:

Brooke Jackson: "He was a teacher and mentor for many of us in the litigation department. He taught me to see and understand what it took to communicate with jurors. Most of all, he was a supporter and friend to each of us. In my opinion Dick Crawford took Holland & Hart to a new level of trial advocacy from which it has never retreated. He was a great man, nothing less."

Walter Bithell: "Dick Crawford understood the art of advocacy, believed in trial by jury and liked lawyers. He was a friend and mentor and helped many of us become better lawyers than we would have been without his straightforward and honest counsel."

Karen Lisko: “When Dick retired 12 years ago, I was hired to take his position. Nothing could have been more daunting. Dick knew how to challenge the attorneys he trained while maintaining the strongest level of respect and affection with them. He truly cared about his clients and it showed in all aspects of his work. He taught me that blurring professional service with personal caring makes the most crystal clear sense for serving our clients and ourselves well.”

Ronald Matlon: “I knew Dick Crawford long before either of us were trial consultants. Both of us were coaching debate teams and teaching courses in argumentation and persuasion at our respective universities. We grew up in the fledgling profession of litigation consulting together, co-sponsored seminars, and published as co-authors in the early years of trial consulting. Dick and his wife, Jan, became my good friends through the years. I'm greatly saddened by this news.”

If there is a Valhalla for those who love the jury trial, Dick is feasting in the banquet hall!

Our thoughts and prayers of support go out to Dick's wife, Jan, as she grieves the loss of her lifetime mate.

2009-2010 Leadership In Place

ASTC Welcomes

the 2009-2010 Leadership

PRESIDENT
Cynthia R. Cohen, Ph.D.
Verdict Success
Los Angeles, CA

PRESIDENT-ELECT
Elizabeth Foley
Zagnoli McEvoy Foley, LLC
Chicago, IL

SECRETARY
Dennis Elias, Ph.D.
Litigation Strategies, Inc.
Phoenix, AZ

TREASURER
Tara Trask
Tara Trask and Associates
San Francisco, CA

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Sonia Chopra, Ph.D.
National Jury Project/West
Oakland, CA

Katherine James, MFA
Act of Communication
Culver City, CA

Matthew McCusker, M.A.
SheldonSinrich Trial Consulting
Atlanta, GA

Anne Reed, J.D.
Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, SC
Milwaukee, WI

Court Call: Spring 2009,

President's Column

Years ago, I was in love with my career, but it wasn’t close to being steady work. Feast or famine—sometimes with long dry spells. It was scary at times. I read books a ...

Court Call: Summer 2008,

A Look Back with Margie Fargo

Q. What skills learned in college were most useful in your career as a litigation consultant?

A. Face to face interviewing skills, ...

Court Call: Fall 2007,

Letter from the President

I just returned from the Board of Directors’ Mid-Year Meeting in Atlanta and am excited about the direction we are going this year. This is my fourth year on the Board and I have never seen such impressive committee production. There is much good work to recognize, and here are some clear h ...

Court Call: Summer 2007,

Letter from the President

Every year at our annual conference we learn from each other and get energized to improve our practice and improve the profession. This year was no exception. The committees are clearly invigorated and off to strong starts. What’s going on within the ASTC? What are the committees working on ...

Court Call: Spring 2007,

Thinking About the Past and Focusing on the Future:

The American Society of Trial Consultants has just passed the quarter-century mark, and with membership at a historic high (533 as of this writing), the society is ready to host another well-attended conference. Yet, as each member contemplates the renewal notice of this organization (and inevita ...

Court Call: Summer 2006,

Letter From the President

The American Society of Trial Consultants recently celebrated its twenty-fifth annual conference in Austin Texas. The past quarter century has witnessed the Society moving from a small but ...

Court Call: Spring 2006,

Additional Conference Highlights

Specialty insurance is an issue that has been visited (and revisited) by ASTC over the years. At the last ASTC Board Meeting, Board Member Chris Dominic reported on his latest investigation. The following presents a summary of his conversations with ...

Court Call: Spring 2005,

ASTC Acquires the Jury Expert

We are pleased to announce that the ASTC has acquired The Jury Expert from Litigation One Publishing. The Jury Expert is a monthly newsletter designed to help litigators improve their courtroom communication skills. Teresa Rosado, Ph.D. will be the Editor ...

Court Call: Winter 2005,

A Window on the ASTC Regional Meetings:

While the ASTC comes together as one collective body during its annual conference, during much of the rest of the year, the ASTC is often most visible and most important as a network of contacts among active members. The ASTC regional meetings which were held in eleven cities across the country this ...

Court Call: Fall 2004,

Engaging in the Public Dialogue on the American Jury

For the last three years the ABA’s Dialogue Program has promoted public discussion on specific aspects of the legal system. This year’s program, “Dialogue on the American Jury: We the People in Action” provides a terr ...

Court Call: Summer 2004,

First Speech In Favor of Certification

If we have an opportunity to increase our internal competency while simultaneously maximizing our external credibility, wouldn"t we be crazy not to take that chance? We are at such an exciting time. Certification is that inevitability of a profession that has matured. Now ten years ago, we had ...

Court Call: Winter 2003,

From the President

Do you remember the childhood game "Telephone," where one child whispers a message to the next child and the message is passed from one player"s ear to another until the last to speak has to repeat aloud what turns out to be a fairly garbled, often hilarious version of the original me ...

Court Call: Spring 2003,

From the President

All the clichés apply. "If you can dream it, you can achieve it." "Picture it and the painting of reality follows." It"s impressive to me how informal brainstorming from one trial consultant or collective ideas from a gathering of ASTC colleagues have helped shape ...

Court Call: Summer 2003,

ASTC Annual Conference held June 5-8 in Reno

Rather than betting on the likelihood of future terrorist activity, ASTC members gathered for the Annual Conference in Reno, Nevada betting that they would have a great time, learn about new approaches in the field, learn about their colleagues new and old, and move the organization onward and upwar ...

Court Call: Fall 2003,

Book Review

Courtroom Psychology and Trial Advocacy by Richard C. Waites, J.D., Ph.D. encapsulates invaluable insights learned over the author"s 23 years in the courtroom as both a lawyer and trial psychologist, and illustrates how the meaningful application of social psychology as it pertains to de ...

Court Call: Winter 2004,

Your Counterfactual Strategy: How You Can Influence Jurors" Thoughts About "What Might Have Been"

What do jurors in deliberation do about ten times per hour that requires them to suppose something that"s false in order to investigate whether something may be true? The answer is that they engage in counterfactual thought or argument by asking "what if" and by speculating on "w ...

Court Call: Spring 2004,

To Certify or Not to Certify (Good Question)

The question of whether ASTC should certify trial consultants has a long history, emerging during the society"s formation, again through the activities of a committee in 1994-1995 and most recently through the formation of the current ASTC Credentialing Task Force. Neither the Task Force nor t ...

The Jury Expert: The Impact of Graphic Injury Photographs on Liability Verdicts and Non-Economic Damage Awards

Over the years, the use of graphic, and at times gruesome, visual imagery in the courtroom has become commonplace. Although the use of such imagery has become the norm, the prejudicial nature of this evidence continues to be a contested issue in courtrooms across America. This paper focuses on the impact of graphic injury photographs in a civil dispute where the evidence favors a defense verdict.

The Jury Expert: Civil Case Mediations: Observations and Conclusions

"You can see a lot by just looking". The authors observe 62 mediations in two cities to identify themes and patterns in successful mediations. Three experienced trial consultants offer their reactions to author assertions.

The Jury Expert: Identifying Leaders

An experienced jury consultant discusses how jurors pick presiding jurors and how you can identify their most likely picks as you are engaged in voir dire and jury selection.

The Jury Expert: Hate Crimes and Revealing Motivation through Racial Slurs

If a white man assaults a black man and during the assault repeatedly refers to the victim as a "nigger", is it possible that ISN'T a hate crime? A response to the 'hip-hop culture' defense used in the Nicholas Minucci case by two writers who believe the use of racial slurs should be viewed as prima facie evidence that a hate crime has been perpetrated. Two experienced trial consultants offer their reactions to this assertion.

The Jury Expert: Anthropomorphism in Technical Presentations

How do you explain the often dry technical information in intellectual property cases in a way that is understandable to a lay jury? Try anthropomorphism. An experienced graphic designer and trial consultant offers his experiences in strategies to help jurors emotionally connect with technical data.

The Jury Expert: Alternative Cause Strategies in Product Liability Litigation: The Need for Affirmative Defenses

An experienced trial consultant breaks down a corporate defendant's case into component parts and demonstrates how alternative causes can be presented for a complete and persuasive defense strategy.

The Jury Expert: Will It Hurt Me In Court? Weapons Issues and the Fears of the Legally Armed Citizen

An examination of how gender of juror, gender of shooter & type of weapon used interact to modify verdict and sentencing. Two experienced trial consultants respond.

The Jury Expert: September 2009's Favorite Thing

Our September Favorite Thing: a way to keep up on legal happenings, research, and jury behavior without expending much effort at all. (And thanks to D. Todd Smith in the Texas Lawyer, September 28, 2009 for making @thejuryexpert one of the "Top 20 Legal Tweeters to Follow on Twitter"!)