trial consulting
Trial consulting is the use of social scientists, particularly psychologists and communication experts, and economists, to aid attorneys in the presentation of a criminal trial or civil lawsuit.{{Cite book |last=Brodsky |first=Stanley L. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/436034162 |title=Principles and practice of trial consultation |date=2009 |publisher=Guilford Press |isbn=978-1-60623-254-5 |location=New York |oclc=436034162}} Modern trial consultants help prepare witnesses, improve arguments and rhetoric, focus group and mock trials, change of venue surveys, and select juries.{{cite news |first = Matthew |last = Hutson |url = https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200703/unnatural-selection |title = Unnatural Selection |date= March–April 2007 |work = Psychology Today |access-date = February 23, 2017 }}
Overview
Traditionally sophisticated jury selection methods were a mainstay of trial consultants, they now "place far less emphasis on jury selection than they did in the past",{{cite book |last1= Kressel |first1 = Neil J. |first2 = Dorit F. |last2 = Kressel |name-list-style = amp |year = 2004 |title = Stack and Sway: The New Science of Jury Consulting |location = Boulder, CO |publisher = Westview Press |pages = 86–87 |isbn = 9780813342412 |oclc = 55858096 }} and many in the field now prefer the term "trial consulting" to "jury consulting".{{cite news |first1 = Franklin |last1 = Strier |first2 = Donna |last2 = Shestowsky |name-list-style = amp |year = 1999 |title = Profiling the Profilers: A Study of the Trial Consulting Profession, Its Impact on Trial Justice, and What, if Anything, to Do About It |work = Wisconsin Law Review |pages = 450–51 }} Since many cases are now settled out of court or decided by arbitration, some trial consulting firms have diversified to include mock mediation and arbitration sessions.{{cite news |last = Shapiro |first = Ari |url = https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4696235 |title = Jury Consultants and Arbitration of Civil Lawsuits |work = Day to Day |publisher = National Public Radio |date = June 9, 2005 |access-date = July 14, 2006 }} This is also the reason that many jury/trial consultants are now referring to themselves as "litigation consultants".{{cite book |last1 = Posey |first1= Amy J. |last2 = Wrightsman |first2 = Lawrence S. |name-list-style = amp |year = 2005 |title = Trial Consulting |location = New York |publisher = Oxford University Press |isbn = 9780195183092 |oclc = 819414718 }}{{page needed|date= February 2017}}
The traditional mainstays of trial consulting remain important. They include witness preparation, shadow juries, mock trials, focus groups, community attitude surveys, and expert assistance with trial presentation.{{cite web |last1 = Prosise |first1 = Theodore O |title = Shadow Juries: A Unique Advantage in Civil Trials |work = Litigation News |publisher = American Bar Association Section of Litigation |url = https://apps.americanbar.org/litigation/litigationnews/trial_skills/trial-practice-shadow-juries.html |access-date = December 16, 2015 }}{{Cite book |last=Posey |first=Amy J. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/65178143 |title=Trial consulting |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |others=Lawrence S. Wrightsman |isbn=978-0-19-804036-1 |location=Oxford |oclc=65178143}}
References
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Further reading
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- {{cite journal |first = Franklin |last = Strier |year = 1999 |title = Whither Trial Consulting? Issues and Projections |journal = Law and Human Behavior |volume = 23 |issue = 1 |page = 93 |doi=10.1023/a:1022378824280|s2cid = 143751371 }}
- {{cite book |first = R. Craig |last = Smith |year= 2006 |title = Championship Law: Seven Keys to Winning Performance in the Courtroom |location = Victoria, BC |publisher = Trafford Publishing |isbn = 9781412093729 |oclc = 72981787 }}
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