November 2020 Bar Bulletin
Reason and emotion make up one of the most often discussed dichotomies when it comes to jury decision-making. Attorneys often complain about jurors who emotionally decide a case, implying that the decision in question somehow defied logic and reason. In fact, some suggest the emergence of nuclear verdicts (i.e., runaway damage awards) is explained by the fact that jurors are much more easily triggered in this day and age than in the past, when it comes to their emotions. Many attorneys long for the mythical juror who can just reason through the case as our justice system requires.
Notably, this dichotomy is flawed in...