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ASTC is formed of professionals who devote themselves to enhancing the effectiveness of legal advocacy. Members work with attorneys in planning all phases of trial—including discovery, trial preparation, and jury behavior. The work of members encompasses expertise in many fields, including psychology, communications, graphic design, and theater, as well as the law. The American Society of Trial Consultants is the pre-eminent organization for establishing practice standards, ethical guidelines, and continuing education for members of this highly specialized field.

Announcements

07/03/2008:

Douglas Keene, Ph.D. begins term ASTC President

ASTC is pleased to announce that as of July 1, 2008 Douglas Keene, Ph.D., of Keene Trial Consulting, has begun his term as ASTC President. 

Cynthia Cohen, Ph.D., of Verdict Success, will serve as President-Elect.  Joining them on the Executive Committee: Tara Trask, of Tara Trask and Associates, as Treasurer and Elizabeth Foley, of Zagnoli, McEvoy and Foley, as Secretary.

ASTC is also pleased to announce that as of July 1, 2008 Dennis Elias, Ph.D., and Katherine James, MFA, have joined the Board of Directors.

06/04/2008:

2008 ASTC PRO BONO RECOGNITION

There Is No Justice, Unless There Is Justice For All

For giving professional services freely and with no thought of reward
 
ASTC honors the contributions of:
 Patricia McEvoy, Ph.D.
Holly Van Leuven, M.A.
Beth Bochnak, M.A.
Sunwolf, Ph.D., J.D.
Alison Bennett, M.S.
Cynthia Cohen, Ph.D.
Diane Wyzga, R.N., J.D.
Andrew Sheldon, J.D., Ph.D.
Mathew McCusker, M.A.
Bruce Boyd
Alan Blumenfeld, MFA, BA
Katherine James, MFA, BA
Bryan Edelman, Ph.D.
David Cannon, Ph.D.
Tara Trask
Susan Johnson, Ph.D.

06/03/2008:

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Presented to MARJORIE S. FARGO, M.A.

In Honor of your Outstanding Dedication and Lifetime Commitment, ASTC wishes to recognize your contribution to the advancement of the art and science of trial consulting. Your efforts have been instrumental in providing a strong foundation to a burgeoning profession, as well as an inspiration to your colleagues. The members of ASTC, and trial consultants everywhere, owe you a debt of gratitude. We have all benefited from your endeavors, as does everyone who seeks the fullest measure of justice in our courtrooms.

06/02/2008:

EMERITUS AWARD

Presented to LAWRENCE S. WRIGHTSMAN, Ph.D.

In Honor of your Considerable Commitment to the Society over the course of your career, ASTC wishes to recognize your contributions by awarding you with Emeritus Membership. We thank you for all your contributions, which will have a lasting impact.

05/30/2008:

The Bronson Dillehay Award

The Bronson Dillehay Award for Research, Scholarship, and Education in Procedural Justice granted to Mimi Samuels, legal writing professor at Seattle University School of Law. Dr. Samuel’s research examines the case law on Batson noting that attorneys frequently use the non verbal responses of prospective jurors as a justification when faced with a Batson challenge. She is unable to join us at the conference for the presentation of this Award, but she is very honored to have been selected and an advanced copy of her article is available here: Focus on Batson: Let the Cameras Roll

More information about the Bronson Dillehay Award and this year's award recipient is available via the Pro Bon Publico and Awards Committee

05/30/2008:

ASTC Conference next week in Chicago

Updated program now available. Final Conference Program

05/28/2008:

The Nation's Trial Consultants Convene June 5-9 in Chicago.

Insight into how masters at trial consultation and trial graphics make crucial strategic decisions, and how post-911 jury bias against Muslims and death penalty jury selection controversies are among the topics America’s top trial and jury consultants will be studying when they assemble in Chicago in June.

Dr. Douglas Keene, Austin, Texas, Chicago Conference Planning Chairman and ASTC President-Elect, says June’s conference will address the complexity of a rapidly changing legal environment, a society in transition, and the challenge of connecting legal disputes with social values. “Our keynote speakers, Dr. George Lakoff on Friday and Dr. Shari Diamond on Saturday, are masters in understanding what jurors want when they take the oath to serve, and how to most effectively communicate with the core values and beliefs that guide them to their conclusions,” Keene says.

One of the most highly-anticipated sessions will feature insight from a panel of prominent litigators, legal scholars, and judges on the past and future of voir dire. In a climate that includes pressure on the judiciary to limit attorney-led voir dire, will the power to question jurors continue to fall to judges? Will peremptory strikes be eliminated, as some recommend?

Many other topics crucial to the preservation of the right to a fair trial will stretch from Thursday through Sunday, including the keynotes, first by Dr. Lakoff, Professor of linguistics at Cal-Berkley and Senior Fellow of the Rockridge Institute, Berkley. Dr. Lakoff, whose books include Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think, will be discussing his latest work, Don’t Think of an Elephant, which examines the roles of values and message-framing in American public life. The second keynote will feature Dr. Diamond, Professor of Law at Northwestern University and an ABA Fellow, who will focus on the beliefs of jurors about the legal system and the implications of juror expectations on decision-making.

Dr. Keene says that ASTC conferences continue to serve America’s trial consultants by teaching, mentoring, and establishing professional standards that guide responsible practice. “This year’s conference has an ambitious goal: to provide deeper understanding of complex and subtle aspects of various aspects of practice, and to feed the need to grow for those who are just starting in the field, and those who are masters,” he says.

More information on ASTC’s June conference is available at the Society’s website: www.astcweb.org, or by contacting Dr. Keene at 512/347-1144 or via e-mail: dkeene@keenetrial.com.

05/27/2008:

American Society of Trial Consultants Launches Online Publication

Timonium, MD -- The American Society of Trial Consultants (ASTC) has launched an online version of their journal, The Jury Expert (TJE).

The new interactive version represents a huge leap forward for the publication, which the Society acquired in 2005. The Society’s President, Chris Dominic of Portland, Oregon says the on-line version of The Jury Expert will greatly assist the members of ASTC and their clients. “The Society encourages the development and enrichment of research techniques for professionals in the trial consulting, trial-related research and teaching fields. Further, the publication emphasizes the effective and ethical uses of trial consulting, and will remove some of the common myths and misconceptions about the essential skills and strategies our members bring to the litigation field,” President Dominic says.

The journal launched in May, and TJE Editor Rita R. Handrich, PhD, says the new format should encourage legal and trial consulting professionals to share their professional interests and experiences with their colleagues. “The new format creates an easily accessible forum for the exchange of ideas, techniques, experiences and research results in the trial consulting arena,” she says.

The ASTC officials say the mission of the new e-journal is to educate and inform attorney-litigators in applying both the art and science of litigation advocacy by publishing original articles by trial consultants, academics and researchers, and popular writers and speakers.

The Jury Expert is published bi-monthly 6x/year and subscriptions are now free to all interested persons, and can be accessed at the ASTC website: www.astcweb.org.