Professor Explains Courtroom Persuasion Strategies, Trial Tactics.

(From AScribe)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Trial tactics that defy common sense are just one reason millions of Americans are drawn to the many law-related shows on television, says a Purdue University psychologist who studies persuasion in the courtroom.

"One kind of tactic copied in television shows is called stealing thunder," said Kipling Williams, professor of psychological sciences. "This technique, which goes against the thinking that first impressions are important, is employed when the defendant's attorney brings up the worst piece of evidence against his or her own client before the prosecution makes the charge."

"By stealing thunder, the attorney diminishes that impression's impact," said Williams in a chapter about trial tactics in "Psychology and Law: An Empirical Perspective." The new book ($60), which Williams co-edited, was released in March by Guilford Press.

Williams, who also has studied the biasing effects of judges' instructions to jury members and eyewitness accuracy, said many lawyers assume the stealing-thunder tactic works because they are framing negative news in a positive light. For example, the attorney might say, "Though my client was convicted of a similar crime 10 years ago, he served his probation and turned his life around and now volunteers in the community regularly."

But Williams has found that attorneys don't even have to frame the negative news.

"Just saying he was convicted of a similar crime 10 years ago does just as much to minimize the issue because it makes the attorney, and the client, look honest," he said. "It also makes members of the jury think this news must not be so bad if the attorney is willing to bring it up."