If a case goes to trial, you can rest assured that there’s an arduous process ahead of you. After all, if the case was as “open and shut” as you sometimes hope, there would’ve likely been a plea deal or settlement before it ever got to trial. Once a case ends up in the courtroom, everyone is on an equal playing field. No matter how great an attorney is or how obvious the eventual verdict seems, there are no guarantees. This is why legal professionals around the world now utilize jury consulting services to gain the upper hand.
Jury Consulting
Although you may not find it in typical high school textbooks, jury consulting is most certainly a science. A jury consultant advises an attorney throughout proceedings. From assisting with jury selection to providing valuable insight after the trial, these professionals are with the attorney they’re advising for the long haul.
The science of trial consulting is focused on helping an attorney get the ruling they want. If you’ve ever seen the movie “Runaway Jury,” you certainly have an idea of how jury consulting works — albeit a tarnished one. You’d be hard-pressed to find a consultant willing to go through the illegal measures portrayed in the movie. The film does accomplish, however, showcasing the eventual goal of jury consulting.
Who are Jury Consultants?
Jury consulting is no longer simply about picking the best jury. Now, trial consultants do everything from mock trials and shadow jury studies to witness preparation and trial presentation. Because of the numerous skill sets required, attorneys need to focus on consultants with the right experience.
Like most consulting careers, there is no university dedicated to providing jury consulting degrees. Instead, these professionals are individuals with backgrounds in social science. This could include a master’s degree in criminology, sociology, psychology or any degree focused on behavioral science. Fortunately, these degrees often focus heavily on research methodology, which is another essential skill when performing trial consulting.
There are several services that you want your jury consultant to provide. Fortunately, Magna jury consultants provide an array of jury consulting services to assist in the process.
Pretrial Responsibilities
Just like a good attorney, a trial consultant’s job begins before proceedings ever starts. It’s not as simple as listening in on the voir dire process and ascertaining which jurors are most likely to return a favorable verdict. Change of venue studies, for example, are a powerful tool in jury consulting. Surveys are created to ascertain a locality’s feelings related to the case. If it’s discovered that certain biases or demographic features could make a favorable verdict unlikely, a change of venue can be requested.
Juror profiling studies, using mock juries and focus groups, can also develop profiles of individuals