Skip to main content icon/video/no-internet

Trial Consulting

Trial consulting gained attention in 1971, when “scientific jury selection” was employed by a group of social scientists in the defense of the Harrisburg Seven, a group of war protesters who faced conspiracy and kidnapping charges. Since that time, the field has grown considerably in terms of both the number of professionals in the field and the range of services offered. The educational and professional backgrounds of trial consultants vary, but doctoral-level psychologists make up the largest percentage of consultants. There are arguably no limits to the types of services that trial consultant can provide, but the most common include community attitude surveys, jury selection, witness preparation, focus group studies, mock trials (also referred to as trial simulation studies), demonstrative exhibit preparation and evaluation, content analysis of media for purposes of change of venue or change of venire motions, shadow juries, and posttrial juror interviews.

Consultant Backgrounds and Qualifications

The trial-consulting industry is unregulated, and there are no educational, training, or experiential qualifications required to identify oneself as a trial consultant, jury consultant, litigation consultant, or any other associated title. The American Society of Trial Consultants (ASTC) states that its members come from the fields of communication, psychology, sociology, theater, marketing, linguistics, political science, and law. Although there are no state or national licensing requirements, the ASTC Professional Code states, “The trial consultant fully discloses academic qualification and consulting experience to potential clients, specifies the services provided, and identifies the objectives of each consultation.”

Trial Consultants versus Experts

Trial consultants are typically retained by the attorney(s) representing one party in a case to assist with one or more aspects of trial strategy. Trial consultants differ from experts generally in the type of assistance they provide, although there can be similarities in the research methods they employ and overlap in the information or assistance they provide to attorneys. Whereas experts are hired because of their specialized knowledge of a particular field or subject relevant to a case (e.g., fire analysis, medical disease, accounting methods) and it is anticipated that they may testify at trial, trial consultants are generally hired to provide services that will assist the trial team with the assessment and development of case presentation and trial strategies, and it is typically not expected that they will testify at trial.

Trial-Consulting Services

A wide range of services designed to address pretrial, trial, and posttrial issues are provided by trial consultants.

Jury Selection

Jury selection was one of the first services provided by trial consultants when “scientific jury selection” was employed in the defense of the Harrisburg Seven in 1971, and over the years, there has been considerable debate over the purpose, effectiveness, and ethics of trial consultants assisting with jury selection. Generally, jury selection involves attempts to identify jurors who are sympathetic or unsympathetic toward a particular party in the litigation. These attempts may be based on intuitive assessments of potential jurors during voir dire or on research-based “juror profiles” that identify demographic and attitudinal factors associated with favorable or unfavorable attitudes toward one or more of the parties and that are developed prior to the trial. Sources of information about potential jurors include juror questionnaires administered by the court in connection with jury pool maintenance and provided to the attorneys shortly before the trial, community attitude surveys, supplemental juror questionnaires, and the observation of potential jurors during voir dire (which can provide information on their verbal and nonverbal behavior).

...

  • Loading...
locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles

Sage Recommends

We found other relevant content for you on other Sage platforms.

Loading