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Statutory ranges, guidelines, sentencing advocacy and the power of priming

By Douglas A. Berman

A notable new piece on legal advocacy by Kathryn Stanchi now available here on SSRN, "The Power of Priming in Legal Advocacy: Using the Science of First Impressions to Persuade the Reader," reminds me of what I consider to be a key failing by many in the defense bar in the aftermath of Booker. Before I turn to this failing, here is the abstract of this new priming article: While legal advocates have long understood that first impressions can strongly influence the decision-maker?s view of their cases, so far legal scholars have not explored in any depth the growing body of research on the science of first impressions.  This article remedies that by looking at the scientific studies of a psychological phenomenon called ?priming.?  These studies reveal the subtle and surprising ways in which first impressions can be shaped to the legal advocate?s advantage...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on May 23, 2010 (boomark / email).