Scientifically based research can take
much of the guesswork out of trial preparation.
There are many reliable, useful research tools
that are available to help a trial team make
informed, strategic decisions and develop a
persuasive and compelling presentation of their
case. A typical pre-trial research regimen
consists of a telephone survey, a focus group, a
mock trial and one or more witness evaluation
activities.
A telephone survey, also
known as a community attitude survey, is often
the first research tool used in preparation for
trial. A telephone survey is typically
conducted 3-6 months before trial, and serves
two main purposes:
-
It provides
information about the background characteristics
and attitudes of the venire that is useful for
jury selection; and
-
It provides the
trial team the opportunity to test the themes of
the case, and enables us to identify the
strongest (and weakest) themes.
A telephone survey
enables us to identify the people most likely to
hold views and endorse themes that are most
favorable to our client, and helps us generate a
preferred jury profile that is consistent, clear
and understandable.
A telephone survey also
provides the trial team the opportunity to test
the themes of the case early in the trial
preparation process. Our telephone surveys are
noteworthy for their bi-partisan presentation of
case themes and facts: we present both sides of
the case on a theme-by-theme basis in modular
form. After each module is presented, we ask
the participants to react to what they have just
heard and to vote on the verdict questions. At
the end of the telephone survey, after the
participants have heard the entire case
presentation, we ask them again to vote on the
verdict questions. Their responses provide us
with a general understanding of how a jury is
likely to process the facts and issues of a
case, and enable us to identify the strongest
and weakest themes of the case.
A telephone survey
includes questions in the following areas:
-
Jury qualification
information (e.g., citizenry,
affiliation/closeness with any parties connected
to the case);
-
Familiarity with and
opinions about the parties in the case or
people like them;
-
Other pre-existing,
case-related attitudes;
-
Reactions to key
facts, issues, and case themes;
-
Verdict votes.
Statistical analyses of
the telephone survey data allow us to examine
whether there are any meaningful relationships
between the participants’ background information
(e.g., demographic information, pre-existing
attitudes) and their opinions about the case.
Again, our ultimate goal is to identify the
strongest case themes and the characteristics of
those people most likely to endorse those
themes.
The telephone survey
participants are a representative sample of the
venire. That is, we interview randomly selected
members of the jury-eligible population in the
local venue, in about the same proportions as
they appear in the population (e.g. 40%
college-educated). Typically, between 200 and
400 people participate in each telephone
survey. The large number of survey respondents
ensures that our findings are reliable and
generalizable; that is, we can reasonably
expect that our telephone survey findings will
generalize to the actual trial and jury.
A telephone survey is the
first step in a series of pre-trial research
tools designed to help a trial team better
prepare for trial. We will explore the second
step - a focus group - in our next newsletter.
