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Shadow Jury

Virtual Shadow Juries Presented at ABA Litigation Workshop

June 27th, 2011  |  Published in Shadow Jury

Cynthia Cohen Verdict Success“Forget what you fear about shadow juries. Go virtual!” said Cynthia R. Cohen at the 11th Annual Women in Products Liability workshop in New York. “Virtual Shadow Juries are not your mother’s shadow jury.“

Dr. Cohen presented a paper describing the history of shadow juries, including some famous success stories, as well as the limits of shadow juries. Cohen’s paper then described the impact of virtual shadow juries, which she characterized as “the wave of the future in high stakes and bellwether trials,” because they are safer, more flexible, and more productive than traditional shadow juries. “The technology benefits those who use it,” said Cohen.

A shadow jury is like a focus group continuing throughout the trial. The focus of the research is on the effectiveness of communication. Many trial teams use shadow juries both before and during trial to get useful feedback.

“Trial lawyers entrenched in case facts, law, and strategy, need objective eyes and ears to tell how the trial is perceived in the jury box,” said Cohen. However, relying on office staff or family members introduces inherent bias. According to Cohen, shadow juries offer these benefits:

1. Understanding jury comprehension of opening statements and witness testimony. 

2. Shifting strategy based on juror feedback. 

3. Better approach to settlement and damage issues. 

4. Evaluating and preparing witnesses.

5. Incorporating feedback into closing arguments.

Dr. Cohen then described additional benefits available only when the shadow jury goes virtual.

Download Dr. Cohen’s entire paper (PDF). 

Jury Research Expert Dr. Amy Singer Interviewed By CVN

June 29th, 2010  |  Published in Shadow Jury

Amy Singer, President of Trial Consultants, interviewed by CVN on jury research.Courtroom Views is pleased to welcome special guest Amy Singer, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of Trial Consultants, Inc.  Dr. Singer is a nationally recognized authority in the field of litigation psychology, a discipline which she helped to pioneer.  In addition, Dr. Singer has also authored a number of books and articles on litigation strategy, including Trials and Deliberations: Inside the Jury Room, published by West.

CVN: Dr. Singer, thank you for joining us today!  There are so many different tools to deal with juries: shadow juries, virtual shadow juries, mock trials, and jury simulations, as well as some techniques that you have trademarked yourself, such as Mini Focus(tm) Groups and SimulJury(tm).  
Dr. Singer: And there’s even more than that.  We also do voir dire consultation, change of venue studies, supplemental juror questionaires, and post-verdict interviews.


CVN: We are hoping you will shed some light on which tools are best for which kinds of cases — especially whether any of these techniques makes sense for medium or smaller cases, where there may not be ten million dollars, or even one million dollars at stake.


Dr. Singer: Of course. When there is more at stake, you take fewer chances, but we’ve rarely seen a jury trial so small that the litigants could not cost-effectively improve their odds.
CVN: Well let’s start with the jurors themselves.  In March of this year, you told CNN that the weak economy might affect the kind of people who end up on juries.
Dr. Singer: Yes, absolutely. You will see drastic and dramatic changes in your juries. Folks that have been affected by the economy, including but not limited to losing their jobs, foreclosures, job hunters, small retail business owners will be gone!!
CVN: At CVN we have noticed much higher verdicts this year as opposed to last year — in all kinds of cases: Tobacco, Asbestos, Products Liability.  With the banking crisis and the BP Oil crisis, and continuing weakness in the economy, are juries possibly less sympathetic to corporations right now?
Dr. Singer: It certainly depends upon the corporation. For example, if a corporation can show that they are very “green” (such as Honda) will fare better then those that are not as environmentally concerned. The other variable is the reputation of the corporation and how they are treating their employees and the public in this economy. If your corporation is in the banking industry or tied to subprime mortgages, I  feel sorry for you!  We always ask what stocks, mutual funds, etc., potential jurors have and how they have been affected.
CVN: Is technology changing how litigants can handle juries?
Dr. Singer: Yes. Wired jurors tend to come from Gen X and Gen Y, which make up 52% of the jury pool nationwide!!
They have different expectations of how trials should be presented. For example: they are impatient,and get bored easily.They have difficulty remaining focused and attentive. It is very difficult to keep them engaged without high technology that mimics the Internet and You Tube.  Don’t forget that with Googling and finding the websites they want to view, they have constant control of their environment. As a result of their “lack of control” of receiving evidence they are intolerant of not getting “to the point.”
These individuals are cynical…they do not come from the “handshake generation” as I refer to my generation of baby boomers.
Furthermore, they can not insulate themselves from outside influences even with specific jury instructions not to investigate, post research, experiment or even use their cell phones, or computers!!  The reason why they do not follow instructions is because they are passive aggressive and suffer from oppositional defiant disorder. It is like wrangling a bunch of cats…
We could have an entire interview just about this.
CVN: We very much look forward to that!  One final question: What is really, truly the correct way to pronounce “voir dire?”  Rhymes with…
Dr. Singer:  I like voir dire as pronounced voir dear.. voir dire (rhymes with crier, sounds stressful to me).  Of course, either way is correct.
_________________
Dr. Amy Singer is the founder and CEO of Trial Consultants, Inc. You can reach her at jurydoctor@aol.com.

Shadow Juries In The News

May 6th, 2010  |  Published in Shadow Jury

Shadow jury

An in-depth, behind the scenes look at Shadow Juries was offered by Kansas City’s The Pitch news monthly.

The weekend before the PSF trial’s start, employees for a company called Nolan Research made cold calls to Jackson County residents and said they were looking for people to participate in a market-research project. About 50 recruits who’d been promised $50 each went to a meeting at the Embassy Suites hotel near Westport. At the hotel, each was given a questionnaire to fill out and a nondisclosure agreement to sign. On February 2, 13 people received telephoned instructions to show up at the Jackson County Courthouse at 8 a.m. the next morning.


The shadow jurors entered the courtroom at the same time as the real jury and were ushered to the defendants’ side of the gallery. They had been instructed not to speak to anyone except one another, which is why those who were interviewed by The Pitch requested that their identities be kept confidential.


An older man with sloping shoulders and quick, darting eyes — the shadow jurors knew him as “Jack” — was the enforcer. During breaks, the shadow jurors were herded into an isolated corner of the fifth-floor hallway. If one of the men had to use the restroom, Jack went with him. Women shadow jurors went in pairs. Any who missed a day of the trial were kicked off the project. Each night, they were expected to wait by the phone for a call from L&E Research, a company based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The caller would survey their opinions of the day’s proceedings.

The case, which was tried in February of this year, involved Premium Standard Farms, a pork manufacturer facing a nuisance claim from the neighbors of Premium’s 80,000-hog farm in northern Missouri.
 
The article describes both the challenges and the allure of shadow jurors, who may provide critical feedback and insights as to how the opposing side’s case is being received.
 
In the Premium case, for reasons not clear from the article, the shadow jurors’ view of the case diverged from that of the real jury. Perhaps the shadow jurors did not tightly match the demographics or the real jury; perhaps they determined which side had hired them; perhaps they were not debriefed correctly. Or maybe it was just bad luck.
 

Shadow Jurors

But the promise of shadow jurors, especially in high-stakes trials, is almost irresistible. CVN has seen several cases recently where one side was swinging for the fences, only to be stunned by a verdict demonstrating that the jury had during the course of the trial become hostile to that side’s story. Armed with such foreknowledge, a timely course correction in closing argument could be worth millions.
 
But it is the cost, rather than any hostility to the concept, that makes shadow juries less common than they might be.
 
Until technology once again changes the equation.
 
CVN’s live webcasts allow virtual shadow jurors to watch the trial without coming to court, which broadens the pool of potential participants. As a result, virtual shadow jurors can be recruited more effectively, more quickly, more accurately, and less expensively.
 
Morever, due to CVN’s live evidence feed, these “virtual shadow jurors” can see the exhibits as clearly as the jury does, which may not be true of the view from the courtroom gallery. And, of course, the opposing side may have no idea that a shadow jury is working the case.
Shadow juror provides real-time feedback
Most important, these “virtual shadow jurors” can be debriefed in real-time, rather than at the end of each day, providing more and better feedback — and faster feedback, too, with the potential to inform cross-examination or re-direct.
With a larger pool to recruit from, fewer logistical difficulties, and better communication, a litigant can get better results for less money — or deploy a larger shadow jury for more reliable results.
 
Ask whether virtual shadow jurors might be a possibility for your next trial. Below are listed some of the many jury consultants who provide shadow juror services.
 


Jury Consultants Offering Shadow Juries  

Jury Research Expert Dr. Amy Singer, Founder and CEO of Trial Consultants, Inc.Verdict Success Jury Consultant 

Shadow Juries Become Affordable

February 19th, 2010  |  Published in Shadow Jury

Shadow Jury

Shadow juries can be one of the most important tools in litigation. If the real jury isn’t buying your story, or is having a negative emotional reaction to your client, you need to know immediately. 
 
But you can’t interview the jurors, read their minds, or often even read their faces — which is why shadow jurors are so valuable.
 
The problem with shadow juries, of course, is that traditionally they have been too expensive except for the biggest cases.
 
But the ability to webcast trials completely changes what is possible for shadow juries, because for the first time ever it is possible to have virtual shadow jurors, who watch the trial online. What’s different with virtual shadow jurors?
 

Virtual shadow jurors can watch the trial from a remote location

First, when the shadow jurors do not have to be in the courtroom, the costs go down. Jurors can be recruited from anywhere, more quickly, more easily, paid less, and they do not have to travel.
 
Second, with virtual shadow jurors, the benefits go way up:
  • Closer Match. With a larger pool of available shadow jurors, the shadow jurors can be selected to more precisely match the characteristics of the actual jury.
  • More Feedback. Because the virtual shadow jurors are not in court, they can be polled more frequently, rather than once at day’s end.
  • Faster Feedback. Because the polling can be done online, the shadow jurors can answer questions in real-time, and get the feedback to the trial team for fast response, even in time for cross-examination.
  • Increased Reliability. Because the virtual shadow jurors are not physically in court, courtroom space does not prevent the hiring of a larger, more representative shadow jury.
  • Improved Fidelity. Because CVN cameras use a zoom lens and also capture the digital evidence feed, the virtual shadow jurors get a view of the witnesses and evidence that is closer to what actual jurors get, compared to the angles and distance that may be available from the gallery.
  • Privacy. Because the virtual shadow jurors are not physically in court, opposing counsel has no way of knowing how many shadow jurors are being used, or indeed whether there are any.
What’s the same? Virtual shadow jurors still do not know which side has hired them, and a qualified jury consultant still must recruit and manage the shadow jurors, and mediate all interactions with the shadow jury.
 
The downsides of the virtual shadow jury are not many. In theory, virtual shadow jurors might not pay close attention to the proceedings. However, the same can occur in the courtroom. In fact, because the virtual shadow jurors are not in the court, a good jury consultant can manage and monitor their participation more actively than with an in-court panel.
 
Another difficulty with virtual shadow jurors is that some courts do not allow cameras, including most federal courts, although the trend is toward greater access. The chart below shows that CVN has been approved to webcast court proceedings in 30 states and two federal jurisdictions.
 
CVN Courtroom Video Coverage Map
 
CVN has arranged with two jury consultants to provide virtual shadow juror services – R&D Strategic Solutions and Verdict Success. However, live in-court webcasting technology is available to any jury consultant that would provide a higher quality product, potentially at a lower cost. Below is a list of jury consultants who provide shadow jury services.
 
If you have never used a virtual shadow jury, talk to your jury consultant. If you are a jury consultant and would like to provide virtual shadow juror services to your clients, contact John Shin (jshin@courtroomconnect.com) for live trial multiple line bulk pricing.
 
Jury Consultants Offering Shadow Juries