Jury Selection in the Age of Conspiracy Theories and Distrust with Tara Trask
Concepts: Jury Selection, Misinformation, Bias, Juror Psychology
In this episode we ask: How does what some have called a Cold Civil War affect our ability to listen and decide objectively when presented with arguments and evidence in court? How much increased bias, skepticism, and hostility for institutions -- from courts to corporations to witnesses -- do people carry into the jury box?
Tom Hagy interviews jury and trial expert Tara Trask about picking juries in an age of misinformation, general distrust, tribalism, unleashed social media warriors, flamers, and propagandists, and unorthodox legal strategies that seem to unfold on a daily basis. All of these conditions began to accelerate in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election in which Donald Trump prevailed over Hillary Clinton, continued to heat up in Trump's race against then-candidate Joe Biden, culminated in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capital, and continues to blot out the sun amid civil and criminal actions against the former president and some of his supporters and colleagues as the 2024 election roars at us like a freight train.
Tara Trask is a nationally recognized author and lecturer on juror psychology and other trial science topics. As President of Trask Consulting, a boutique litigation strategy, jury research and trial consulting firm with offices in San Francisco, Houston and New York, Tara focuses on civil litigation with an emphasis on complex commercial litigation, including intellectual property, antitrust, securities, breach of contract, and fraud. She has assisted plaintiffs and defendants in products liability, insurance, and oil and gas matters, and has extensive experience assisting institutions and individuals in matters involving regulatory enforcement and white-collar defense.
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This podcast is the audio companion to the Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation. The Journal is a collaborative project between HB Litigation Conferences and the vLex Fastcase legal research family, which includes Full Court Press, Law Street Media, and Docket Alarm.
If you have comments, ideas, or wish to participate, please drop me a note at Editor@LitigationConferences.com.
Tom Hagy
Litigation Enthusiast and
Host of the Emerging Litigation Podcast
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Ms. Trask is a nationally recognized author and lecturer on juror psychology and other trial science topics. She is a member of the American Bar Association, The Bar Association of San Francisco, and the APA Psychology-Law Society. She serves as Trial Consultant Advisor to the Trial Consultant Advisors to the Civil Jury Project at NYU Law School.
She has been a member of the American Society of Trial Consultants since 1994. She served on the board of directors from 2005-2012; as Treasurer, President-Elect and President. Ms. Trask currently serves as the Chair of the ASTC/CJP join working group and liaison to the Civil Jury Project at NYU Law School.
Ms. Trask is an avid fundraiser, previously serving on the board for Raphael House, San Francisco’s first family shelter. She has competed in over 125 triathlons, including Ironman New Zealand in 2002.
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