Wisconsin v. Loomis:  The Continuing Saga Of John Henry v. the Steam-Powered Hammer? by Julie Blackman, Ph.D. John Henry was an African American folk hero and a “steel-driving man.”  He hammered steel drills into rock to make holes for explosives that cleared the way for railroad tunnels.  According to legend and song, he competed in a race against a steam-powered hammer.  He won the race but died with his hammer in his hand.  The stress of his exertion stilled his heart. While attention to the role of artificial intelligence in courtroom decision-making is new, the value-laden competition between humans and

Stephen Susman In a series of articles on Law 360, Steve Susman, Richard Lorren Jolly and DOAR Jury Consultant Roy Futterman provide the Civil Jury Project’s proposed innovations for improved jury trials:     This is the third in our series of articles on the Civil Jury Project’s proposed innovations that can resuscitate the American jury trial. Each week we offer a summary of a different innovation, the legal support for its use, and empirical studies on its popularity. Each innovation has been proposed by academics and practitioners, implemented by state and federal judges, and is not prohibited in most jurisdictions. Most importantly, each innovation

Stephen Susman In a new series on Law 360, Steve Susman, Richard Lorren Jolly and DOAR Jury Consultant Roy Futterman provide the Civil Jury Project’s proposed innovations for improved jury trials:       This is the second in our series of articles on the Civil Jury Project’s proposed innovations that can resuscitate the American jury trial. Each week we offer a summary of a different innovation, the legal support for its use, and empirical studies on its popularity. Each innovation has been proposed by academics and practitioners, implemented by state and federal judges, and is not prohibited in most jurisdictions. Most importantly, each innovation

Stephen Susman In a new series on Law 360, Steve Susman, Richard Jolly and DOAR Jury Consultant Roy Futterman provide the Civil Jury Project’s proposed innovations for improved jury trials:       Voir dire has been the main method for selecting jurors in this country since the founding. Lawyers historically handled this process, but over the last few decades federal judges have taken near complete control over jury selection. This is a problem. The Civil Jury Project at New York University School of Law has been monitoring this issue as part of its overall mission to support and reinvigorate the power of juries in

Roy Futterman, Ph.D. In the twenty third and final installment of his weekly column in Law360, DOAR’s real-life New York City Jury Consultant and Psychologist reviews the fictional NYC Jury Consultant/Psychologist on the television series “Bull,” focusing on what litigation is really like in the trenches. [Spoiler Alert]…       In a fitting end to the season, Bull provides us with a confusing, nonsensical, yet entertaining season finale. The Case of the Loving Siblings The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency raids a house during a boy’s birthday party and finds a stockpile of heroin under the porch. Mom is arrested,

Roy Futterman, Ph.D. In the twenty second edition of his weekly column in Law360, DOAR’s real-life New York City Jury Consultant and Psychologist reviews the fictional NYC Jury Consultant/Psychologist on the television series “Bull,” focusing on what litigation is really like in the trenches. [Spoiler Alert]…         After a full season of ethically challenged behavior, Bull and his team spend an episode pondering the morality behind what they do. Why, this should be the most intriguing hour of television since — nope, then they stalk, bug and arrest their own client. The Case of the Unsavory Client

Roy Futterman, Ph.D. In the twenty first edition of his weekly column in Law360, DOAR’s real-life New York City Jury Consultant and Psychologist reviews the fictional NYC Jury Consultant/Psychologist on the television series “Bull,” focusing on what litigation is really like in the trenches. [Spoiler Alert]…       This week, in the start of a three-part season finale, either Dr. Bull gives the single most powerful consultation to an attorney ever or the whole thing was nonsense. I will explain, and you can decide. The Case of Benny, Finally Finally, Benny is charged with the crime we have been

Roy Futterman, Ph.D. In the twentieth edition of his weekly column in Law360, DOAR’s real-life New York City Jury Consultant and Psychologist reviews the fictional NYC Jury Consultant/Psychologist on the television series “Bull,” focusing on what litigation is really like in the trenches. [Spoiler Alert]…         This week, Bull intentionally influences his client to attempt to strangle Bull in court to prove that his client is not guilty of murder. Finally, the show reveals what we jury consultants are really like: selfless and disposable. The Case of the Manchurian Golfer In this episode, we get a little

Roy Futterman, Ph.D. In the nineteenth edition of his weekly column in Law360, DOAR’s real-life New York City Jury Consultant and Psychologist reviews the fictional NYC Jury Consultant/Psychologist on the television series “Bull,” focusing on what litigation is really like in the trenches. [Spoiler Alert]…         The great Bull Paradox is that each week there is a lot of hype made of Bull’s supernatural social science prowess and jury consulting skills, but he has yet to show us that he can use these genius skills, rather than his jury tampering or crime scene investigation skills, to win

Roy Futterman, Ph.D. In this Law360 article, DOAR’s Jury Consultant and Psychologist reviews the new Fox show “You, The Jury”.     When a television show like “You, The Jury” appears, in which millions of home viewers vote on the verdict in a murder trial, a few questions might come to mind. “Have we reached the last days of the Roman Empire?” perhaps, or the more modern “How close are we to the Purge?” As a jury consultant, I am going to focus on a narrower but important question: How might this wacky show affect actual jurors? The Mega-Mock Trial