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A nice read and a good reminder that presentation and knowing your audience counts for a lot, in court as well as the workplace. It's not the facts or your deliverables, but the way in which you sell them to others.

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In this case,I felt it was only needed because of having jury trials. I had the same takeaway that is useful in other places as you. For example, my boss presented a feature that I had worked on better than how I would have done it.

A judge is a jury of one. They may be better trained to rely on evidence, but they are clearly also human and affected by other factors. For evidence of this, I only need to refer to the well-cited study showing that parole judges were significantly more lenient at the start of the day and after their lunch break.

Wasn't that debunked a while ago? https://www.pnas.org/content/108/42/E833.long

Interesting, I haven't read that.

However, I really think it's a stretch to assume that judge's are immune to presentation style.

IMX (albeit very limited) in code[1] jurisdictions, judges do most of their work by correspondence. They direct the proceedings in writing, and the lawyers respond in writing.

Bonus common law track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBM82Ju2kJU

[1] compare "what have the Romans ever done for us?"

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