Post-Trial Interviews

Definition

Post-trial interviews are interviews with jurors to learn how they reacted to events during the trial, specifically to facts.

Regardless of the outcome of your case, you want to know the juror's reactions. Using FactLogic, post-trial interviews of jurors provide the most precise indication of how they thought and reacted during the trial.

Learn the True Judgments. Without FactLogic, post-trial interviews reveal statements of jurors but not necessarily the specific weights of their verbal and intuitive recollection. With FactLogic, post-trial interviews reveal the specific weights of their judgments. These specific weights should also be more accurate than otherwise since quantifying judgments for FactLogic requires more mental commitment. Ask jurors to provide probabilities about the facts.

Investigate Abuse of Discretion / New Trial / Appeal. Use FactLogic for the following:

• Determine if the jury decided fairly on the facts.

• Determine the effect of inadmissible facts.

• Determine the effect of erroneous instructions to jurors.

• Prove that new or inadmissible evidence would have caused a different verdict.

• Use post-trial interviews of jurors with FactLogic to determine a logical verdict.

• Show that the trial judge should have allowed

  • more specific questions during voir dire or

  • a requested challenge for cause.

Compare with Jury Selection. Compare each juror's completed FactLogic information with his jury selection information, if available.

A case consists of one or more independent facts, one or more assertions, and the standard of proof called preponderance of evidence. (Two facts are independent if knowing that one fact exists does not change your judgment of the other fact.) An assertion is a statement to be proved - such as an allegation, charge, cause of action, hypothesis, etc. Independent facts are judged by jurors to evaluate assertions.  FactLogic provides the logical evaluation of  an assertion. An assertion is evaluated as the probability it is true.

You can easily create your case and have the jurors evaluate it.

• Create Your Case.  Enter some case information, one or more assertions, and the independent facts.

• Evaluate Your Case. Assign the jurors to independently evaluate the case (i.e., without communication). They can be collocated or dispersed.  Although individual judgments are of primary interest, Factlogic also combines the juror's evaluations and provides statistical conclusions.

Summary

If used in post-trial interviews, FactLogic can demonstrate

• how a verdict might have been different if the facts had been different during a trial and

• how jurors really viewed the facts during the trial.